The Case of the Haywire Heist
by Mirror and Image
Summary: Complete - Kaitou Kid promised a heist to Hattori Heiji, and it's time to deliver. But Conan has been sitting on something and figuring out how to deal with it. When all collide at the heist, can things go well? No, of course not.
1. Chapter 1

**The Case of the Haywire Heist**

Mirror and Image

**Note**: As we mentioned back in The Case of the Hidden Epidemic, trying to translate how certain characters talk, especially where Japanese has so many levels of honorifics that English doesn't have, can be quite challenging. (Alas, we are mathematicians, not dialogue coaches... ) Hattori and Kazuha are from Osaka, also called the Kansai region and speak with an Osakan dialect, also called a Kansaiben. Translating that particular pattern of speech without regionalizing it to a specific accent is rather... difficult. Please bear with our attempts. Especially since several people mentioned it was difficult to read, we're trying to make it... less strong.

* * *

Heiji blinked at the alarm, disliking just _how_ early it was. But this had been his habit for several months now. So he rubbed the sand out of his eyes and got out of bed. Slowly, he eased himself into stretches and various exercises to help rebuild the strength in his hip, which had been shot the previous fall. That day was his first back in kendo practice and he wanted to show that he was (almost) back in top form.

His recovery had been long, but he plowed through it with the same focus and determination he used when solving cases that came his way (or dropped in his lap). He did everything the doctors recommended and more to try and get back to his usual self as quickly as possible without pushing back his recovery. His physical therapist didn't know that he did additional exercises during his free time, but that didn't matter. Heiji was glad to finally have his full range of motion back as he slid into a kendo stance and started some simple patterns. The only thing he was really lacking in the hip was stamina, which was why he set the alarm extra early in order to go through some strength building exercises for an hour.

Down the hall, Heiji heard his parents starting to stir, so he eased out of his last stretch to go claim the shower. Kendo practice was before school, so he wanted to get going while he could. Once refreshed and dressed, he pounded downstairs, happy that he could do so at all. When he'd first gotten out of the hospital, his parents had set up a bed for him on the first floor since stairs were rather out of the question and Heiji had _hated_ not sleeping in his own bed. He swore he would never take such small things for granted again.

"Son, are ya sure ya shouldn't be more careful?" came the concerned call of his mother from the kitchen.

"How many times I gotta say 'm fine!" he yelled back, though a slight grin twitched along his mouth.

Already dressed in a full kimono, Heiji's mother stepped out with a slight bow. "I believe that mor' now th'n when ya first came home," she smiled. "Now, c'mere so I can hug ya."

"Fine, fine," he mumbled, letting her smaller arms reach up around his shoulders.

"Now be careful at practice, kiddo," she smiled. "I 'ssume ye're skippin' breakfast again?"

"Nope," Heiji drawled. He stepped out of her embrace and grabbed his bag, noting that his mother had already placed a bento in one of the compartments. "A thermos o' juice 'n' a thick slice o' toast'll do me fine."

She tsked him, but stepped back into the kitchen long enough to bring out a thermos and a plate with not just one, but two thick slices bathed in fried eggs. Heiji stuffed the thermos into another section of his bag, shoving one of the slices into his mouth and holding the other.

"Some napk'ns?" she suggested, offering several.

"Sure thin'," he munched. He took them once he'd stepped into his shoes and leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek. "See ya late t'night," he said. "Practice's b'fore 'n' aft'r school today."

"Be careful, son."

"Alw'ys am!"

He ran out, a warm feeling spreading through him. His mother really was the best, traditional or not. He kept jogging, the chilly, spring morning air keeping him cool. If today was his first day back, it wouldn't be any good to be late. And he'd _missed_ kendo. Kendo was his self-defense. Kendo was his way to protect, because there were times where a murderer once cornered would fight back. And kendo, if Heiji was feeling more metaphysical than logical, was a part of his soul. It was _good_ to take back another part of his life.

"Heiji!" came a familiar call behind him.

Swallowing the last of his first slice of toast, Heiji turned, jogging backwards down the empty street. "Kazuha!" he greeted. "I didn' know ya had practice 'is mornin'!"

Ponytail swinging, Kazuha caught up to him as he took another bite of his toast and turned to jog forward once more.

"Don't," she retorted. "But I figure ya'd be stupid 'nough to try 'n' go ta practice this mornin'."

"Ka-zu-ha," Heiji growled, "how many times do I gotta say I'm _bett'r_? It's been _months_. 'm back ta myself, I don't need a damn _escort_. I ain't goin' ta pitch over at th' drop of a hat!"

"I'll be th' judge o' that," she sniffed, glaring at him.

Heiji ignored her, taking another bite of his second slice of toast, finishing it off. It wasn't that he didn't understand her concern. He did. She, his mother, his father - they were all scared when he'd been shot. Especially once they'd seen his clothes covered in not only his blood, but Kudo's as well. (Not that they knew it was Kudo's. Only a very select few knew that Edogawa Conan was the shrunken version of Kudo.) His father, in particular, had grilled him, demanding to know what he was doing there and why he didn't call for the police, etc, etc. Heiji _knew_ they were worried about him, but that didn't stop the sheer annoyance. He knew that he did the right thing, Kudo wouldn't have had a chance otherwise, but there was no denying that it was scary for everyone else to see him in such a state.

Muttering a swear, Heiji just ignored his childhood best friend and continued to jog to school. Kazuha offered many an opinion on that, none of them printable.

"Ahou!" was probably the most common.

Heiji was barely winded when the arrived at school, and this was a pleasant thing for him as he raced through the gates, heading to the gym. Kazuha threw some cusses his way and he ignored them as well. He wanted to get back into kendo.

* * *

Spread out across a back counter, Heiji looked out at the cold spring drizzle outside. Practice that morning had been _good_. His team had cheered when he'd arrived, surprised since he hadn't informed them of his impending return. His coach had immediately put him right to the mat to see how he was and all were impressed with how he preformed. Admittedly, Heiji had been concerned that his lack of practice would hinder his ability in kendo. It was good to be back at the sport he loved and excelled in and to know that he hadn't lost his touch due to inactivity. That afternoon would be the real test, however, as that practice was longer. Nothing was hurting him or even feeling the strain, but that afternoon would be the equivalent of a marathon.

Kazuha wasn't speaking to him, still annoyed that he ignored her that morning. That was fine by him. Some peace and quiet did his tender ears some good. The akido master just _nagged_ so much sometimes.

The electronic ringing of his mobile phone, however, interrupted Heiji's peace and quiet. Surprised, he checked the caller ID and couldn't help but grin.

"Hey, Kudo, how're ya doin'? Haven't heard fr'm ya in a while."

"Ran texted me," the minimized detective replied. "Your girlfriend is bugging mine about you going to practice this morning."

Heiji sat up with a speed that would astonish any who had known he'd been hospitalized and shouted, "She _ain't_ m' girlfriend!"

The other students in the room turned, surprised at the volume, but immediately started laughing and jibing Heiji about his non-relationship with a certain akido practitioner.

Growling, he told his phone, "Gimme a minute to get rid o' these losers, then 'm gonna _kill_ ya over th' damn phone."

"Go ahead and try," was the wry response.

Heiji grumbled and grunted, but he left the classroom and the jeers of his peers, heading for the stairs to the roof. The actual roof might be out of the question with the rain, but the stairway itself was rather secluded and at least gave him a little bit of privacy.

"'kay Kudo, pr'pare ta die."

"Yeah, right."

"Kehn."

"...Ne, Hattori? Are you really okay?"

Heiji was getting rather tired of that question. And as much as he wanted to bite Kudo's head off, there was something in that childish voice that made him pause. Of all the various people who really should be asking him that thrice-be-damned question, Kudo probably had the most right. God knew that Heiji had inquired on Kudo's health almost weekly after that awful day that Heiji'd been shot and Kudo lost two pints of his own blood into a bucket. But Kudo had only asked once, when they were both in the hospital. But that slightest hint in Kudo's phoned voice implied that the shrunken sleuth had been very worried. And given Kudo's track record, probably blaming himself for Heiji's injury.

He let out a small sigh. "Ya worry too much," he muttered. "I did just _fine_ at practice 'is mornin', despite whatever Kazuha wuz tellin' Nee-chan. No pain. No twinges. No nothin'. Just a matt'r o' building up strength."

"Really?"

Now Heiji started swearing. "How many times d' I gotta tell _everyone_ that 'm _fine_?"

"Fine, fine," Kudo replied, and Heiji could pick up the relief in the not-child's voice. "So, any good cases recently? I'm afraid our papers don't always pick up your exploits."

Heiji laughed. No, part of the rivalry between Osaka and Tokyo seemed to involve not talking about the other's achievements. "Ya mighta read 'bout me solvin' a case about a murdered politician's bastard son."

"With nothing but a rug burn and an unlit match? Oh yes. Occhan was fuming that he wasn't called in for something so prestigious and that the 'damn Osakan brat' had taken his glory."

"Ha! I wasn' even s'pposed ta be there, but one o' th' officer's who got called in was drivin' me home from my physical ther'py."

"It worked out rather well for you regardless."

"Yep. There wuz also 'nother interestin' case that fits more up yer alley. Murder weapon wuz a feather."

Kudo snorted. "A feather?"

"Uh huh. A feather dusted with 'nough junk ta bring down a bull-elephant."

"That's one for the record books."

Heiji buffed his nails on his school jacket. "Rather thought so m'self. You?"

There was a slight pause. "My most publicized case recently, though I wasn't mentioned, was the murder at the Budokan."

Blink. "Wait, that wuz _you_ who breezed through? I thought it wuz that jackass Brit."

Kudo gave a small bark of laughter. "I rather think my attempt at a British accent wasn't so bad."

Heiji burst out laughing, with a long guffaw thrown in for good measure. "Oh Kudo," he wheezed between laughs, "ya just made _any_ 'ncounter I'll have with that jerk from now 'til next year more bearable!" He laughed some more. "I'll have ta look up the case 'n' get all th' juicy details so I c'n keep laughin' at that moron."

"So glad to amuse you."

"Sorry."

With a small chuckle, Kudo continued. "My most bizarre was probably also the least publicized. A garbage man used some VHS tapes, pulled out the actual _tape_ part, and used it to strangle his wife's lover."

"I think the feather beats out the VHS."

"No doubt. At least until next time."

Heiji grinned. It was an ongoing silent competition between them, to see who got the most unusual and peculiar cases. It also, in a way, helped reassure both of them that they weren't the only ones dealing with the crazies of the world. Sometimes seeing the worst that people had to offer could take its toll. But being able to sit back and laugh at the weirdness of things helped to take the edge off.

"Ya know," Heiji offered, "I think Nee-chan 'n' ya need ta come down for a visit. We ain't seen ya in a while 'n' it'll be good ta catch up properly, not just o'er the phone."

"Maybe," Kudo agreed. "Ran and I will need to somehow bring it up to Occhan, but we'll see."

"Email me when ya know f'r sure. I'll set up 'nother gran' tour o' Osaka."

"Gotta go. Ayumi's coming over with that look in her eye." Kudo hung up and Heiji just laughed. The compacted detective always seemed to have a woman keeping an eye on him, no matter what his size was.

* * *

It was on the walk home that Heiji and Kazuha finally started speaking again. Heiji himself was tired after the loooong kendo practice that afternoon. His hip still wasn't as strong as it used to be, and he'd had to hit the benches almost a half-hour before practice was supposed to end because he just couldn't push anymore. But he was still rather pleased with the progress he'd made.

"So," he chided his best friend, poking her side, "Didn' I tell ya I wuz fine?"

Kazuha sniffed. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. But as the walked home, she turned with a small smile. "Seriously, Heiji, it _is_ good ta see ya back on y're feet 'n' back ta normal."

"Normal?" Heiji asked, faking a perplexed face. "What's that?"

"Ahou!"

He laughed. "'s nice ta see ya convinced at last. Doesn' _any_thin' get through that thick skull o' yers?"

"Ha! _Yer_ skull's so thick, it could poun' a nail through concrete!"

"Ya'll never get a guy with that pers'nal'ty o' yers, get some femininity!"

"And _ya_ won't ever get a gal with that mat'rity! Grow up!"

Ah, it was good to be back to normal.

They bickered the whole walk back, shooting jibes and insults in between inquiring how the other's day went and lamenting the tests coming up. It wasn't until they arrived at Heiji's home that they finally paused.

"Look, Kazuha," Heiji started. As annoying as it had been, he _did_ appreciate her concern. It was nice to know people cared about him and waited for him to come home. And Heiji knew he was lucky to have people in his corner.

"Heiji?" the girl interrupted, her eyes looking elsewhere. "Why's there a b'lloon at yer window?"

"...What?"

Kazuha pointed.

Heiji followed her line of sight and blinked. Sure enough, tied to a branch right outside his window, was a balloon. A balloon with what looked like some paper caught in the string. "Huh. C'mon, let's go have a look."

They both went in, calling a greeting to Heiji's mother, before heading up to his room and opening his window. "That's strange," he mumbled. The balloon was within perfect reaching distance, and the paper wasn't caught in the string, it was tied in the string.

Feeling his Bizarre Meter rising, Heiji grabbed the string right around the note and pulled the balloon in, Kazuha untying the knot on the branch and closing the window against the chill.

"This had t' 've been placed here w'thin an hour," Heiji muttered, "'therwise the rain woulda ruined it." He pulled the note easily out of the string, letting the balloon float up to his ceiling. Unrolling it, Heiji was once more thrown back to the night that he'd been shot. And a promise made to him by an elusive thief who preferred monocles and capes. "_Next time I'm in Osaka, I'll send a proper invite._"

"Well hell, he kept his word."

**

* * *

Author's Note**: So, we've finally started this. ^_^ Another story with some very specific scenes in mind. Not for a while yet, but we're looking forward to reactions as always. Heiji was kinda fun to write, but writing any Osakan accent can be such a pain. So many apostrophes and abbreviations, but still legible; and trying not to make it sound regional, etc. But Hattori and Kudo talking was rather fun, comparing cases and such.

Next time: Well, we've checked in with Hattori, now we need to check in with Kudo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

"There you go again, smiling for no reason!" Sonoko said, eyes flat with suspicion.

"Eh?" Ran turned, her eyes wide and questioning. "Am I really?"

"I bet I know why you're smiling," the Suzuki heiress proclaimed, leveling a pointing finger at her best friend. "You're thinking about your husband!"

Ran immediately turned bright red. "Sonoko!" she cried out, thrusting her hands to her face, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Ohohohoho!" Sonoko laughed, a delicate hand lifting to her mouth. Several people on the street were turning to look at the spectacle, but teenage drama was beneath most of the spectators and they turned back to their own business. "I'm right, I knew it! You are _soo_ easy to read, Ran!"

Said high school girl tried valiantly to deny the fact.

"You are! You're thinking about him even as I'm needling you! I bet you're off to have a secret tryst with him, aren't you?" Sonoko demanded. Ran's sputtering only continued, and Sonoko's face actually slackened in shock. "Wait, you are? You really are?" Then she straightened. "Oh, Ran! This is so wonderful! You haven't seen him in forever, and now you can meet and confess your heartfelt love for him. 'Ah! Shinichi! You've kept me waiting for so long; I've been worried and scared for so long! But now you're here and I'll never let you go, and we can spend our days in wedded bliss!' Am I right?"

Ran shook her head in vehement denial, unable to even _stand_ the picture that Sonoko was painting. This only sent her best friend into more peals of laughter, the blond heiress having long forgotten decorum and slapping Ran lovingly on the shoulder. Desperately, Ran tried to tune it out, to think of something else. On a level she would only acquiesce much, much later, she was touched that Sonoko felt so happy for her. Most teenagers, Ran found, were too absorbed in their own problems and dramas to be so conscientious of the dramas of others around them. Sonoko was one of the few. In fact, Shinichi was too; his observational skills were always top notch, even if he tended to be clinical in his support before Ran had taught him proper protocol. The thoughts only made her smile again, and Sonoko seized upon yet another opportunity.

"Oh!" the blond said, slapping a fist into her palm. "But what if you find out that he's been seeing another woman?"

Ran gaped.

"That two timing tripe! When I find out who she is I'll yell at her until her ears fall off for traumatizing my beloved Ran!" Sonoko shouted. "Then I'll grab that damn detective otaku and beat him senseless, then I'll break his arms and his legs, and then I'll sue him for psychological damage to my best friend. Just you wait, Kudo Shinichi! Retribution is at hand!"

"So-no-ko," Ran placated, "Please, Shinichi isn't seeing anyone, alright?"

This only caused her best friend to focus all attention on her. "How do you know?" she demanded.

Ran involuntarily backed up. "Because... because... because he isn't?" she offered lamely. Really, how could she explain that Shinichi, after he had been shrunk to the form of an elementary student, had done everything in his power to stay by her side, to prevent her worry in the protective identity of Edogawa Conan? Ran wasn't good with on-the-spot lying like this; she was much more comfortable if she already knew the cover story.

"Oh, Ran, the look on your face is priceless!" Sonoko said giddily, bursting into reams of laughter again.

Finally, wiping tears from her eyes, Sonoko said, "You give him hell, Ran. And if he makes you cry, kick him to me!"

"... Sonoko," Ran said, touched by the sudden compassion in her best friend.

"Annnyway, I have an appointment I suddenly remembered that I absolutely have to attend to," Sonoko said airily. She turned, but not before leveling an intense gaze upon Ran. "I want every scintillating detail, a thorough report, when I see you tomorrow," she demanded, and it was understood that if Ran did not comply, life would be dire indeed.

And with that, Sonoko spun on her heel and trotted across the street, singing random bits of a song and leaving Ran breathless over the escapade that had just occurred.

But that didn't stop her from smiling even more as she walked a route different than what she normally did. It was twenty minutes later when she stopped in front of a very familiar house, still unused and most likely dusty beyond recognition. She'd been in that house once or twice, to clean up and make it presentable for Shinichi's inevitable return. At those times she always worried when she saw the dust and disuse, afraid of what it signified about the fate of her beloved Shinichi, but now she understood why it stood empty and she could only look at the house fondly. Humming to herself, she planned on cleaning it over summer break, still in hopes of Shinichi's return, but this time not with worry and fear, but hope and aspiration.

Not ten meters away was her destination; she knocked politely before opening the door. Professor Agasa rarely locked it unless he was out, and even as the door cracked open she heard the sounds of the kids.

"But I'm hungry!"

"You are always hungry, and it is impolite to always assume that the professor will feed you."

"Conan-kun, look at this!"

Ran could only smile. "Hello?" she called out, stepping in and removing her shoes.

"Ah, Ran!"

A tiny child with glasses darted out into the hall, padding up and stopping just before her. He flushed suddenly, realizing how childish he was being, and looked down in embarrassment. "Uh, hey," he said softly.

Ran couldn't help but smile as she watched the love of her life. "Good to see you too, 'Conan-kun,'" she said lightly, running a hand affectionately through his dark locks of hair. "I see you brought your kids with you."

Below her line of vision, Conan only blushed redder. "They're not _my_ kids," he mumbled, perturbed.

Ran giggled. "Sure they're not," she agreed far too readily. Walking by him, she traced the direction the fake child had come from. "Professor! I'm here!" she called out. "Hello, Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun," she added when she saw the other three children in Agasa's living room. Conan trailed in with a pout, but hopped onto the sofa without a word.

"Oh, Ran-kun," Agasa said, coming out from the kitchen with five... no, six glasses of lemonade. That meant that Haibara-chan was here too, somewhere.

"I'm here to pick up Shinichi's mail," she said smoothly, not even looking at Conan's direction. "I haven't been by in a while, so I'm sure it's piled up quite a bit." Yes, she was a much better actress when she already knew her lines.

"Thanks, Ran-kun," the professor said easily, already opening up a box and pulling out a folder. "It's just been piling up, and an old-timer like me just doesn't have the eyes for it anymore."

Ran accepted the mail, still not looking at Conan, and opened the folder, contenting herself to listen to the kids.

"So where are you going for Golden Week?" Ayumi-chan asked. "My mom's taking me and my sister to Hawaii!"

"Wow!" the boys said in appropriate awe. "That's totally a resort v'cation!" Genta added.

"I'm going to buy my bathing suit tomorrow!" Ayumi said brightly. "My old one is too small."

"Careful, Ayumi-chan," Conan said in a flat voice. Ran looked up to see his face matched his voice as he stared at Genta and Mitsuhiko. "I don't think they can handle the imagery."

Looking over to the boys, she noted that Genta had a happy drool on his face and Mitsuhiko was bright red. "Honestly, Conan-kun, don't say that," she said in a scolding tone. "They're too young for that. You are, too, for that matter." She put on an evil grin. "Unless you have a crush on little Ayumi-chan?"

Conan turned so red Ran was certain she saw steam emanate from his ears. To her surprise, Ayumi, too, turned a brilliant shade of pink. _Oh, dear,_ she realized.

"That's so totally not fair!" Genta lamented, glaring at Conan. "You already have Ran-nee-chan, don't be so damn greedy! That makes you a... a... a pomp!" he said, proud that he'd remembered the word.

Ran hid her smirk behind an envelope. This only exasperated Conan further, and all he could manage was a growl before burying himself deeper into the sofa and opening his grade school book, intent on doing his homework and ignoring the world.

"I will be visiting my grandparents in Kyushu," Mitsuhiko muttered, finally coming out of his blush-induced coma.

"Yeah, I'm visitin' my gran'parents too, in Yokohama," Genta said, frowning. "They'll be pinchin' my cheeks and talking to my parents all the time and smellin' like old people."

"Genta-kun! That's mean," Ayumi chimed.

"That's true! They don't even keep any candy in the apartment," Genta quickly defended.

"I'm sure you'll survive," Conan offered from behind his book. "I'm staying home for break."

"He's going to be very helpful," Ran said brightly, her focus on the mail so as to increase her ambivalence to her next statement: "He's going to help me with my homework."

"He's WHAAT?"

"Conan-kun isn't that smart is he? I mean, he's smart but..."

"I had never supposed him to be so intelligent..."

"Hot damn, how come he gets to spend so much with such a hottie?"

"Genta-kun!"

And so it degenerated, Ran hiding her laughter behind the folder of letters and trying to not giggle further when she saw Conan's flat glare leveled in her general direction. Finally, Ran could contain herself no longer, and she lowered her collection of mail and laughed outright, giggles gurgling up and out of her. "Oh, Conan-kun!" she said finally, "You're so easy to tease!"

It wasn't long after that the kids finished their lemonade and found excuses to leave: homework to do, parents expecting them, etc, until it was just the three of them. Haibara had still not appeared, and her glass was untouched.

"Ran, do you _have_ to do that?" young Shinichi demanded, putting down his front of a book.

"But it's true," Ran said, "You're just so _easy_ to tease when you're with your kids."

"They're _not_ my _kids_!" The fake child growled.

Ran remembered, not long before she learned the truth about the seeming seven year old, when a distracted Shinichi cried out about his guilt over "his kids" getting sick from a hidden epidemic. She smiled, understanding that Shinichi didn't want to admit such strong feelings over children. He always was private about his emotions, and Ran let him be so.

Not that it stopped her from teasing him at _every_ available opportunity.

Still smiling, she began to seriously look through Shinichi's mail. "Hm... let's see... Credit card bill,"

"Save it, it goes to my parents."

"Phone bill, electric bill, gas bill, property tax notification... Oh, a letter to your father."

Shinichi looked up. "The bills all go to me except the property tax. I've set them up to pay from the credit cards I have from them. Property tax has to be a check, though, so they go to my mom."

"Okay," Ran agreed, rifling through the pile for other bills and pulling them out.

"Who's the letter to my father from?"

"Hmm. A writing company of some kind; who publishes your father's work?"

Shinichi snorted. "If it's his editor, then I'll forward it to my dad, disguised as a letter from me. Either that or I'll just forward them his address. I don't know why they still bother sending stuff here."

"Oo," Ran said, picking up another envelope. "This one's addressed to you." She sniffed it. "And it has perfume, too!"

Shinichi's head dropped. "All fan mail goes in the trash," he said flatly. "I've never understood it, I'm never going to reply to them, they're all just utilizing me in their fantasies and it's so pointless."

Ran scoffed. "It's not pointless to them. Fantasy or not, they're trying to show how they respect and admire you."

Shinichi looked up, cupping his head in a hand. "Duly noted, but they don't understand me, they don't even try to understand me. So how real is it?"

Smiling, Ran said, "That's very different from how you used to see them. I remember you loved their attention."

Shinichi scowled. "I'll never be that stupid again," he said in low tones, staring off into space. "I'll never be a public figure again," he added in softer tones.

Ran stilled at the sudden change in the faux child's mood. Once again she learned that there was much to learn about this new Shinichi. Gone was the cocky attitude, the headstrong push to the center of attention. This Shinichi had learned from a near brush with death and the overwhelming possibility that his life would be purchased again. Ran never recalled Shinichi to sit with his back to a wall, nor to survey a room before entering. Also too, she was not accustomed to his sudden mood changes; no, that wasn't completely true. The old Shinichi was always moody, prone to sudden changes in demeanor as various thoughts occurred to him, but now he was much more introverted, much more likely to turn inward, to become quiet. Often she was left suddenly guessing what had precipitated the sudden silence or, like now, trying to stave off the sudden downward spiral.

"You don't know that," she said in an encouraging voice, turning more fully towards the tiny boy. "A cure could still be found."

Shinichi's blue eyes darted towards her before returning to staring at nothing. "Even if it was," he muttered into his hand, "I won't make that mistake again. If I really want to help people, to catch murderers and make a difference, then I have to minimize how much my neck is stuck out. I don't want another noose wrapped around my neck; I've had more than enough of this one."

Ran frowned, unable to comprehend - yet all too clearly could envision - the amount of fear and worry that he now carried with him.

"We'll figure something out, Shinichi," she said softly, "We will."

He looked up to her again, his eyes very intense. But slowly, a small, genuine, smile tugged at his lips. "Thank you," he murmured. "I don't know how I ever did this without you."

Ran smiled in turn.

"Now, now," a new voice said, belonging to a tiny blond that entered the room. "Kudo-kun is too young for you right now."

Shinichi and Ran straightened, both turning bright red, as Haibara Ai finally appeared to take her glass of lemonade.

Haibara had been only a recent revelation, Ran discovering exactly who she was quite by accident. They had been at Agasa's house, the elderly professor talking animatedly with her and Shinichi when Haibara had come in and Agasa - a mere slip of the tongue - had called Shinichi by name. Ran had quickly tried to cover for him, to reassure "Ai-chan" that he mean "Conan-kun," that of course he wasn't the seventeen-year-old detective.

Haibara had only leveled a flat glare at the professor before turning to Conan and saying, "There's no helping it now, Kudo-kun."

Their three o'clock-in-the-morning conversation that night had quickly turned into an argument so big that it had actually woken her father. Ran had been hurt beyond all imagination - he swore that he'd tell her everything, how could he keep something like this from her? _Again?_ She'd been so incensed, and Shinichi was equally frustrated as he tried to explain. The next two weeks had been very strained, until Haibara had showed up on her doorstep, explaining to a startled (and slightly scared) Shinichi that she and Ran needed ice cream.

"It's not that he doesn't trust you," Haibara had said, the two of them sitting in their booth of a parlor. "But some of the secrets he has aren't his to tell. It's one thing to tell you that I existed, but _I_ didn't want him to tell you that the scientist who created the drug was _me_."

Ran had still been struggling to reconcile the face that this little girl was in fact the one responsible for Shinichi's... condition. Several parts were screaming, "Hurt! Maul! Pain!" while others were being overrun with "Why, _why, WHY_?" while still others were shouting, "But she's just a _kid_!" It was a weakness of hers to do nothing when she was so conflicted, but after learning about Shinichi's secret, she was beginning to discover that it had advantages.

"It's not that he didn't trust you," Haibara said again, "it's that _I_ didn't trust you." The tiny blond sighed as she took a spoonful of ice cream. "It probably works out for the best," she said afterward, "Professor was becoming quite confused on when he was supposed to act and when he wasn't."

"... Haibara-san?" Ran had asked, hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"What... what are the chances... that you'll find..." she couldn't finish the sentence, suddenly afraid to.

The impassive look on the girl's face dropped slightly, something that looked like longing, perhaps even jealousy, ghosting across her painfully young features. "I don't know," she had answered honestly, "But I will use every chance I have." She had been relieved, ending another secret Shinichi had kept.

"Haibara!" Shinichi said, throwing his book down and hopping off the sofa, still bright red. "It's not like that!"

The shrunken scientist turned around, and both Ran and Shinichi could see the hint of a smile on her lips. "Sure it's not," she said simply, before sipping her lemonade and walking back the way she'd come, disappearing back into the house.

The two would-be lovers stared at each other. "Did she just... tease us?"

"Yes... Yes, I think she did."

The two burst out laughing.

"Oooh, did the old man miss something funny to the young whippersnappers?" Agasa reappeared, carrying something in his hands.

"Nothing of importance," Shinichi said dryly, plopping himself back on the sofa and rolling his eyes. Ran was still trying to stifle her giggles. "What's up?"

"I have something for Ran-kun here," the old professor said, sitting with some effort next to the teenage girl. He revealed in his hands a necklace.

"It's beautiful," she said, accepting the accessory.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to have good taste," Shinichi said in flat tones.

"Shinichi!" Ran hissed, examining the marksmanship. "Oh," she said, realizing just what this was.

"This should be pretty helpful to you in the future," the professor said with a smug smirk. "One of my finest inventions to date!"

"But what does it do?" Shinichi asked, his abrasively apathetic exterior quickly vanishing to curiosity.

"First it's a digital radio receiver," Agasa replied, pulling from his pocket a familiar pair of glasses. "It goes with this," he added, tossing them to the shrunken detective. "With the advent of all this digital higglty-pigglety I figured it was high time I started using it with my inventions. It uses ISDB-S: Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Satellite, with an MPEG-Two audio compression system on a twelve GHz band with PSK modulation, only thanks to my brilliance-"

"Use smaller words, Professor," Shinichi interjected, much to Ran's relief. "I can only barely keep up with all the acronyms you're using, and I'm sure Ran's already lost by now."

Said karate master humphed in indignation. It didn't help that he was _right_ either.

"It's rather like your detective badges," Agasa said after a moment's petulant frown. He was perturbed that he didn't get the chance to show off his scientific knowledge. "Only instead of working on a shortwave radio frequency it works on a digital satellite transmission."

Ran frowned. "But if it's digital, that means it can be copied, right? By hackers or something."

"Only if the information is accessed," Agasa said, suddenly smug again. "Not only did I program a 'Copy Never' code which forbids recording of the transmission, I also piggybacked the frequency and used some of my best encryption algorithms. Assuming anyone could even _find_ the signal, they'd be hard-pressed to try and decipher it."

"Interesting," Shinichi said, having already removed his old glasses and was fiddling with his new pair. "So what can it do?"

"All your old features are included," Agasa explained, nodding his head in confidence. "You and Ran-kun can track the badges and each other, and also talk to each other through the digital frequency - so there is less chance of people listening in, which I know was always a concern for you, Shinichi-kun. The signal strength is stronger, and so is the range. If the devices weren't so small I'd have also added a camera feature."

"No, this will be fine," Shinichi said, putting the glasses on. "Pictures would need to be stored, and I'd rather not have that kind of evidence. Eh?" he added, blinking. "They're heavier."

"I imagine they must be," Ran said, still pressing buttons on her necklace, "I can't imagine the number of microprocessors and other hardware that would be necessary for a piece like this." She paused, a thought crossing her mind. With a bright smile, she quickly thrust the necklace to her beloved. "Here!" she said quickly, "Hand this to me."

"...? Why?" Shinichi asked, adjusting his new glasses.

"Just do it!"

"... Okay," he said slowly, taking the accessory from her, holding it for a few moments, and then giving it back.

"Perfect!" she said with a smile, reaching behind her neck to clasp it.

"I don't-"

"Now I can tell everyone that you gave it to me!" she said brightly, working to find the clasp by feel. "Sonoko was convinced that you and I are having a secret meeting this afternoon, and now I have something to tell her. That is, of course," she added, giving up on the necklace for the moment in exchange for the next little taunt. "You want me to tell her I was helping you look after your kids!"

"... Raaaaan!" he whined.

* * *

Conan adjusted his glasses again, still not used to the extra weight on the bridge of his nose. He knew enough about computers to appreciate the compactness of the design, but it felt like the darn things were going to break his nose. He looked up to see Ran again fidgeting with her new necklace, smiling at seemingly random intervals.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked as they continued the walk back to their home. It was late in the evening now; the sunset later and later but it was still pitch dark out.

"About what a relief this necklace is going to be," Ran said honestly, tucking the invention under her uniform. "I'm always worried when you run off after a murderer or disappear looking for evidence. Now I'll always know where you are."

Conan turned away, guilty at the thought of his beloved worrying. At the new angle his glasses slid down his nose fractionally. Growling, he adjusted them again.

"I can't help it," Ran said, catching his mood. "I care about you too much to _not_ worry."

"Ran," Conan muttered, "if I could do things differently..."

"Shh," she said softly, a hand reaching down to touch his shoulder. "Don't say another word, because there's nothing we can do about the past; all we can do is look to the future."

Just simple words like that flooded through him, and he felt himself relax. Really, he couldn't understand why he hadn't just _told_ her everything so much earlier. All the rationale and rhetoric seemed moot. Conan shook his head at that thought, because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the threat to her was still very, very real.

The rest of the walk passed by in comfortable silence; Conan noted when they arrived home that the lights were off. "Occhan's off playing mahjong again," he drawled in fed-up tones.

"He wouldn't be my dad if he wasn't," Ran said, though irritation was coloring her voice as well. "Was there anything specific you wanted for supper?"

"Anything you make is fine," Conan offered, happy to be rid of his school backpack. "Did we get much homework today?"

"We just started the new term, Shinichi," Ran said airily. "They're pounding us early so we don't forget it all over break. Here," she said, offering her backpack. "Homework is listed in the usual place. I'll be in the kitchen."

"Ah," Conan agreed, pulling out Ran's planner and flipping it open. Ran had been more than willing to help catch him up and keep pace with his course work. In spite of his many attempts to sneak in reading a physics book or a math book, he had lost a lot of material, and Ran has spent the better part of the winter trying to bring him up to speed. With the start of the new school year, they both agreed to just cut their losses and have him learn what he missed as they went. The diminutive detective pulled out the necessary books and padded up to the room he shared with Kogoro to get his own notebook and paper so he could copy notes. Any questions he had he would ask Ran as he came across them.

He had just opened his math notebook, shoving his heavier glasses up his nose when he heard the distant tune of his phone ringing. Rolling his eyes, he went back upstairs to answer.

"He did it!" came the excited proclamation of an Osakan drawl on the other end of the receiver. "He actually kept his word an' did it!"

"Who did what, Hattori?" Conan said in flat tones. So help him, if this was another I'm-your-friend-let's-chat-it-up call he was-

"Kaitou Kid!" Hattori exclaimed, and seven-year-old Conan froze on the spot, his eyes becoming saucer-sized. "I didn' think he meant it, but he gave me a pers'nal invite ta his next heist! Left a balloon in m' window an' everythin'! Ya gotta come, Kudo. I've already got part of it cracked an' between th' two o' us-"

"Hattori," Conan said in soft tones, his head bent down and a hand balled into a fist on one side. "Hattori, he didn't invite me."

"So?" his best friend demanded on the other end of the phone. "That never stopped ya b'fore, Kudo. Y' always jump at th' chance ta catch Kid an' this-"

"Ran's calling me, I have to go," Conan said quickly before hanging up and turning off his phone. He glared at the device, wishing it had never rung.

He still hadn't completely come to grips with discovering Kid's identity. It had been at Ran's competition at the Budokan, another run-of-the-mill murder with the usual run-of-the-mill suspects, until he'd discovered that one suspect, Kuroba Kaito, was in fact Kaitou Kid, phantom thief extraordinaire and part-time intellectual sparring partner for his dear "tantei-kun."

It felt like supreme cheating, finding out his identity somewhere outside a heist. On some levels, his identity was moot, because it was the challenge of the chase that so intrigued Conan, the intellectual battle of matching wits of someone who, at least, was on the same level as he and Hattori. He didn't know what to do with the knowledge; he _still_ didn't know what to do with the knowledge, and the call had brought up all those thoughts again.

"Conan-kun?" Ran called up, "Who was that on the phone?"

He needed a good ear for this. "Hattori," he called as he stepped out of his room and joined her down in the kitchen. "He was calling because Kaitou Kid invited him to a heist. He promised he would that time he helped rescue me from Psycho-sensei."

Ran took a seat across from him at the table. "You don't sound too happy about it," she said slowly, sensing that something serious was bouncing around Conan's head. Oh, how he loved her.

"I never found out why he did it," he said equally slowly as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "He's always proclaimed that no one gets hurt on a heist, that's one thing; it's his show and his rules. But what possessed him to decide to help me on the epidemic case?"

Ran frowned, thinking. "If he's so bound and determined that no one is hurt, then maybe he just didn't want to see _you_ hurt. You did say he'd been following you before that, right?"

"Following isn't the right word," Conan replied. "He only would watch me on occasion, I'd hardly classify it as frequent enough for 'following.' Besides which, I always got the impression it was more of a 'checking up' on me." He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no evidence to verify that, so I could be wrong."

"So you're saying that he keeps an eye out for you specifically?" Ran asked.

"That night he showed up in my room, he said that Nakamori and the others don't need to be stalked. He also said we were flip sides of the same coin." Conan frowned, recalling that devastatingly revealing conversation.

_ "We both wear masks, tantei-kun," the phantom thief had said, "You wear yours because you need to protect the people around you from getting hurt. You're searching for a way to fix something. And you want justice served. If I really was stalking you, then maybe that's why: because my other critics don't have those qualities, and maybe that's why you warrant a more personal visit, because you do have those qualities."_

"He sees something in me that's somehow similar to him," Conan said, still frowning. "I can't imagine what, because he's a _thief_. He commits crimes and makes a public spectacle of it; he goes against the law and for no observable reason other than to serve his own ego with his dramatic showcases of magic."

"Do you have evidence to the contrary?" Ran asked, getting up to check the oven. "Does something make you think this isn't true?"

Conan quickly clamped his teeth together. Yes, he _did_ have evidence to the contrary. He had met him out of costume and Kuroba was not the egomaniac his alter ego displayed. He was cocky and a showman, but he had had an honest concern - not for his own safety - but for the death of his classmate and what it meant. And there was a pain there, something when he saw the body of his schoolmate, and something even stronger when the victim had insulted his father. Conan just couldn't believe someone who was clearly so complicated could commit grand theft just to satisfy his own ego and need for attention. But it fell back to the simple truth that had nearly destroyed them just a little while ago: "It's not my secret to tell," he ground out, the whites of his knuckles showing and he loathed himself for keeping something from her.

Imagine his surprise then, when Ran gave him a measured look, saw the knuckles and the clenched jaw and the regret and pain on his face, and her eyes only widened in surprise. "You know something?" she queried. The teenager seemed to catch herself however, a hand going to her mouth as she remembered something. "No, no," she said quickly. "I won't press. If you know something about Kaitou Kid - and given that you said it was a secret it must be something big - then you don't have his permission to share it yet. I'm sorry." Quickly she sat back down and reached out to put a hand on the boy's own. "It's okay Shinichi, okay?"

And Conan smiled briefly, putting his other hand over hers. "We're both learning," he said simply. "I understand."

Curiosity was clearly eating at Ran; she was bursting to know what gossip Conan had on the famous Phantom Thief and Conan was clearly biting his tongue to not tell her, since she always had such wonderful insight; and she always knew the right questions to ask.

"Shinichi, what you know about the Kid, is it enough to answer any of the questions you asked earlier?"

And that was when it all crystallized for Conan. "No," he said in awe, his eyes widened in realization. "No, I don't."

"Then maybe you need to find a way to talk to him?" Ran asked softly.

"Yes, yes I do," Conan said, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Ran, could you excuse me for a second? I need to call Hattori back. Could you tell Occhan when he comes back that Hattori invited us to Osaka again?"

Ran smiled, thoroughly glad she had helped. "Sure," she said lightly, getting back up to return to cooking supper.

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Sonoko and the kids are really great characters, and it's always fun to write about them. It's too bad the DC/MK cast is so razza-frackin' BIG; there are too many characters to keep track of, and the secondary characters like them tend to fall by the wayside. Even the older characters, like Kogorou and Nakamori, have less screen time because SO MUCH happens to the teens for us. So when they do arrive, we try really hard to make it memorable.

It's really nice for us as writers to write about a relationship that is past the "tension" and "admission" phase. So much story telling out there, on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, play up the romantic tension of two characters who haven't confessed all yet; and the climax of the story is when they do and we never get to see the after. Belying the fact that we both desperately wanted Ran to find everything out (which was the impetus of this not-so-little arc of ours) we also like the idea of writing about a couple that could _be_ in love and see how they would interact.

Shinichi and Ran have a very mature relationship; they're very considerate of one another and, to our great relief, are not perfect. Ran's still struggling to come to terms with all the new "little" quirks in the love of her life, and Shinichi continues to fight between Truth and Instinct when dealing with Ran. These will be some common themes through their relationship in this fic, and so have fun watching them develop.

We made a very conscious decision to make Ran good with technology; more on that later in the fic, but we can say that we deliberately wanted Ran to have a skill in the physical, the emotional, and the practical (at least outside of homemaker) to make her more useful on cases or heists - as will become evident later.

Well, we've visited Osaka and Baker; I'd say it's time we moved on to Ekudo, giving that there is a heist rumored to be happening in a few chapters.

As a side note, after several reviews saying that Hattori was STILL difficult to understand, we've tried to tone it down... again. You won't really see this till we meet up with Hattori again, but we're trying. Especially since, apparently, many of you readers don't speak English as a first language. (! We have an international following?) Hopefully it will be easier to read.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

If one walked into a particular classroom, one would be rather surprised to see one Kuroba Kaito leaning forward on his desk, staring out into space as if about to fall asleep. If one asked why, as Kaito's good friend Aoko did, one would be told that his mother had - after a spectacular trip to the attic that had ended in a twisted foot - uncovered an old scrapbook of his father with lots of pictures that hadn't been seen in years and that the two of them had been up well into the night reminiscing and sharing memories while looking through it. If one actually looked inside Kaito's head, however, one would find a very different picture.

For in Kaito's head, he was positively shaking with excess energy that needed to be expended, flying high on euphoria and excitement, and struggling to keep his perky, upbeat, bouncy feelings buried so deep inside that no one saw anything other than a tired student who'd been up looking at photos of his dearly departed dad. Aoko had smiled softly when he'd mentioned the unearthed photo album (which was true, he _had_ been up until almost three in the morning with his mother, but he was too damn giddy to be really tired at the moment) and Hakuba, with his proper British reserve, had politely backed off.

As for the reason for his extremely high sprits, it was because Kaito had just finished laying everything out for his next heist. And it was the perfect heist for Osaka, one that he had been properly looking for and trying to plan since he'd promised to give the Osaka meitantei Hattori Heiji a proper heist after that bloody incident with the crazed psychologist and tantei-kun. A Mysterious Phantom Thief kept his promises, after all, and word had finally hit him that said tantei-han was properly healed enough to handle the brazen heist that Kaito had planned. (And what _fun_ they were going to have...) He'd had Jii-chan deliver the invite to the tantei-han while Kaito himself had set up the invites for Nakamori and his task force, and for tantei-san - one Hakuba Saguru, classmate.

Kaito had already told his mother he'd be staying in Osaka with a friend for Golden Week and she had nodded and wished him luck. (Sometimes, he wondered just _how much_ his mother knew about his night job that he'd inherited...) All the arrangements had been set up; everything was packed and ready to go. All he had to do was show up on time, and _that_ certainly wouldn't be a problem.

So between now and getting started on his gift-heist, he was in a perpetual state of nervous anticipation. And, of course, he couldn't let anyone know that.

"Ne, Kaito?" Aoko leaned over and asked, just as the lunch break started. "I know you're tired, but Tou-chan wanted me to invite you over this afternoon. He knows what a Kaitou Kid fan you are and he figured a magician's head might help him pound out more of the riddle."

Kaito let some of his excess energy show as he perked up and smiled at Aoko, ignoring the blatant glare Hakuba was sending in their direction and resisting the urge to glance back and stick out his tongue. "You'll actually let me _handle_ a riddle sent by Kaitou Kid! Of _course_ I'll be there!" He leaned forward conspiratorially. "I even promise not to flip your skirt for the remainder of the day."

Aoko directed a scowl at him, no doubt remembering how he had flipped it up not once, not twice, but four times on the way in to school that morning. "I want that in writing."

"No problem!" Kaito proclaimed. He ripped out a piece of notebook paper, scribbled the date and wrote,

_I solemnly swear to not flip the skirt of one Nakamori Aoko for the remainder of this day so that, in return, I can look at the latest riddle sent by the magnificent Kaitou Kid._

"Satisfactory?" he asked, showing her the paper. Aoko scowled before grabbing the pen right out of Kaito's hands and crossing out "magnificent" with extreme prejudice.

"Now sign it and give it to me so I can shove it in your face when you try to flip my skirt."

Kaito grinned widely, carefully added his proper signature, and offered it back to Aoko as if it were some sort of holy relic. For good measure, he let out a yawn as he did so.

Aoko offered a satisfied smile as she looked at the paper and Kaito just let the smile wash over him as he basked in its glow. He had always looked at her as his best friend. They'd grown up together and he had never _really_ looked at her as a girl. She was far too tomboyish for that. But earlier that winter, right before that hellish chaos of murder at the Budokan, Kaito had finally _looked_ at Aoko. And really seen her. She wasn't just a girl; she was a gorgeous, spirited young woman. Over the past month or so, after he'd finally shaken off the nightmares of that magic bullet murder, he'd started to dream of Aoko. Or rather, him, Aoko, a blanket under the moonlight, and a lot of soft touches and _really_ pleasant things.

One such dream of her lovely form above him, silhouetted by moonlight that seemed to enhance certain aspects of her, invaded his brain and he squished it down almost on instinct. Once, when he was fifteen, his mother asked him something he couldn't quite remember. But his response had been that he could hardly imagine his life without Aoko in it. Of course, since he'd started noticing her, the role he imagined for her in his future had changed. No longer was she just another pal. He had visions of her, him, and children. Growing old together, building a life together, arguing together, teasing together. In short, Kaito had realized that somewhere over the course of growing up, he had fallen completely and utterly in love with Nakamori Aoko.

And the complications therein were excruciating. So he continued acting like he always had. He joked, flipped her skirt (with new appreciation), avoided her mop and treated her like his best friend. Because there was a massive secret between them, and he didn't think she could handle it. She was too much like her father. She was so straight and narrow that he doubted she'd understand the complications of his life or even try once she understood his betrayal.

They continued through lunch, laughing and jesting and gossiping like they normally did, though Kaito kept things toned down in tandem with his apparent fatigue. However, that didn't stop him from, once the opportunity presented itself, reaching over and flipping up not her skirt, but her shirt.

_Hot damn, that was _lacey_!_ was his first thought as Aoko reacted, pulling her shirt back down. _Dumb idea_, was his second thought as Aoko looked at him red-faced and pulled out her mop.

"You. Said. No. Skirt. Flipping!" she annunciated with every swing.

"That wasn't your skirt!" he tossed back, a big grin on his face, as he swung into his usual dodging routine. "I'm always flipping your skirt. Why are you flipping out over me flipping your shirt instead?"

"PERVERT!" was her response.

...Well, that was true over the past couple months... But she didn't need to know that yet. Before his "discovering" that she was a female, it was just something that he did to annoy her. Now, after really noticing her, he understood why guys could be so perverted. Of course, he didn't really want other guys looking at her, but he couldn't deviate from being her best friend without raising questions he couldn't answer.

He was starting to wonder, however, if he might be able to talk to her about his large secret someday. Aoko, despite how much she had obviously matured over the years, was very much a reactionary person. She gave knee-jerk responses to anything thrown her way and never held onto anger that long without good reason. (And Kaito was pretty sure that his being Kaitou Kid would be a _good_ reason to stay mad...). But lately, after she had befriended Mouri Ran (again, thanks to that messed up magic bullet murder at the Budokan), Kaito had started to see signs that Aoko _might_ take things better in a few years, giving him hope he didn't think he deserved given his situation.

Mouri Ran had started to become a regular, if not frequent visitor at the Nakamori household. Kaito had noticed how Aoko always seemed a bit more mature when Ran was around, and it was something that Aoko wasn't just picking up on but starting to incorporate. But then, Ran had this quiet maturity about her; most likely due to the hardships she had gone through when it came to the love of her life.

Oddly enough, Ran's young charge, Edogawa Conan, chibi-version of meitantei Kudo Shinichi (said love of Ran's life), was rarely around when she came over. Kaito had worried about that initially, wondering if that meant that his favorite follower had figured out exactly who he was, but had pushed those thoughts aside when Ran had mentioned that he was usually with his friends, giving her a little bit of time off. Kaito knew from his observations that Kudo's little detective cluster could be very good at pulling him along, so he stopped worrying. Mostly.

Another of Aoko's swings missed him by a hair as he flipped easily over her and did a handspring further down the row of desks.

"Wow," he whistled. "Ran-chan's karate lessons are paying off."

"Argh!" Aoko growled, leaving her father's vocabulary behind and dipping into her own, private stock.

Oh yes, Ran's time with Aoko was definitely making her more dangerous with a mop. But if Ran's gentle, almost motherly way of guiding Aoko to a more mature method of handling his Big Secret, he wasn't going to interrupt.

Because Kaito had dreams for his future. And if he could somehow make them possible, he planned to do so.

* * *

Hakuba triple-checked the item under his microscope. He had just finished what he considered his own personal standard procedure on the heist note that Kaitou Kid had delivered. With every piece of equipment in his lab, Hakuba had dissected the note for any identifying features he could somehow discover. Unfortunately, nothing seemed pertinent. The paper was standard white 8.5 x 11 paper used for any printer or copier around the world. Similarly, the ink could only be singled down from a brand that could be found in any office supply store across the world to a type of printer that could also be anywhere in the globe including, Hakuba noted, his school's computer labs, the town's public library, and probably many, many private homes. The signature and caricature was easily compared and proven to be a true Kaitou Kid signature (Hakuba had absolutely _no patience_ for imposters and copy-cats...), made from a plain black pen also as common as grass in a field. Similarly, there were no fingerprints, no fibers, no discernable chemical signatures or exposure to anything other than paper and air.

Not that any of this was a surprise. Kuroba could be an incredibly thorough person when he chose to be. Being Kaitou Kid rather necessitated that, but Hakuba would like to have _proof_ of that someday. He switched his train of thought as he studied the riddle once more. Hakuba didn't really like to ponder his life after catching Kaitou Kid. So much of what he did was for that moment when he was finally victorious against the Moonlight Magician, that all else seemed trivial. Not that he wasn't aware that once he achieved the goal he'd been striving for for so long that he'd need something else to fill up his time, but that was something to worry about after he'd reached the finish line.

There was also, of course, the twinge of what would likely happen to Kuroba himself once Hakuba unmasked him. But he always dismissed that. Kuroba, by his very nature, was incredibly likeable, both in and out of monocle. He always tried to write off those twinges as a result of Kuroba's irritating way of radiating friendship. As long as Hakuba didn't cross that line and stayed professional, there wouldn't be any repercussions on his conscious.

Right?

Back to the note. Hakuba shook his head, trying to stay on task.

_On the day that cries for help_

_During the week of gold_

_It will be rebealed at 57.5 degrees that_

_The Birth of Spring will touch the sky_

_At the plum tree's rice field._

The note was entirely in English, a surprise for Hakuba, but his eyes went to certain lines that made instant sense for him and his English heritage. "_The day that cries for help_" was a reference to the old means of calling for help, stemming from back in the 1920s for any vehicle or person in need of assistance. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday." Of course May Day, itself, was the first of May, which fell during the Japanese Golden Week.

Hakuba couldn't help but smirk. He was positive that the reference to Golden Week was to help Nakamori along. Kaitou Kid, after all, couldn't leave his favorite Task Force behind and Nakamori often needed an extra push to understand the convoluted notes that Kid could send.

The other item that immediately caught his eye, many thanks to his biracial status, was the "plum tree's rice field". If one translated that directly to kanji, one would have Umeda. That and the references to sky made it fairly clear that the heist was to take place at the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka.

Such a shame; he'd been hoping to spend Golden Week back in England. He hadn't been there for a few months, and he wanted to sit with his mother at a proper British tea. But such was life; he wouldn't miss an opportunity to catch Kaitou Kid when it presented itself.

A memory twitched in his brain, making him wince. That magic bullet fiasco a few months earlier was one of those mysteries that just nagged and nagged and nagged at his brain. Aside from Kuroba _consistently_ making jokes and barbs at his narcoleptic, trance-like solving of the mystery, he _couldn't_ for the life of him, figure out _how_ Kuroba had pulled that trick on him. The magician hadn't been in the room at the time, but that hadn't meant anything, for Kuroba was a _good_ magician. But Hakuba couldn't figure out how Kuroba would have known that Ran would have pulled him into that conference room. The chances of her actually being an assistant to Kuroba's trick were minimal at best.

A line from almost a week ago made a vein above Hakuba's brow pulse in frustration. "_Hey, Guru-kuchu, dream through any mysteries lately?_" Hakuba had fumed and struggled to reign in his embarrassment and fury. Even now, he could feel his blood boiling at the fact that he _didn't know_ how he had solved that case at the Budokan, if he even had. The only other one who could have put the clues together (and he'd had to subtly ask Aoko to reiterate to even have an idea of what had _happened_...) would have been Kuroba himself. But while the magician was undeniably keen-eyed and quick-witted, that didn't automatically incline one to being able to be a detective. True, there was a certain amount that could be absorbed through osmosis, since Kuroba _did_ hang around under Nakamori's roof and with Hakuba himself. But that irritatingly illusive magic bullet case required skill, finesse, and experience in order to deduce things properly. Kuroba could finesse things, but he hadn't shown any skill and had absolutely zero experience in deductions.

But Hakuba didn't think anyone else in the room could have somehow put him to sleep and solve the case. Mouri Ran had no history in really participating in cases; it was entirely her father's show. The child Edogawa Conan had showed potential, but was far too young and inexperienced. Aoko wouldn't do anything so underhanded and the dumb "detective" who had been there had been utterly worthless, as Hakuba himself could attest to after some of Aoko's text messages to him. Besides, what purpose was there in using him as a proxy in order to solve the case?

The young detective shook his head once more. Whenever he thought of That Incident, his thoughts ran in circles. Time to focus back on the riddle.

"_It will be rebealed at 57.5 degrees,_" was an interesting line. Hakuba strongly doubted that Kaitou Kid had misspelled "revealed" by accident. It was no doubt that in Japanese, the "v" and "b" sound were almost interchangeable. No doubt, this was to draw attention to the letter. But which letter, a "b" or a "v"? And 57.5 degrees of what? Longitude? Latitude? That seemed unlikely given the references to the Umeda Sky Building. Osaka itself was located approximately 34 degrees North latitude and almost on the 136 degree East longitude line. But that brought Hakuba around to his original question, degrees of what? And did it have to do with the v-or-b question?

Hakuba tabled that for later visitation.

"_The Birth of Spring will touch the sky_" was obviously a reference to the name of the jewel. Unfortunately, multiple searches throughout the internet and his own files on jewels showed no large gem with such a name. Not even a painting or statue or baseball with any sort of nickname related to "The Birth of Spring". He'd already called the Umeda Sky Building, explaining the situation and asking what events would be occurring there on the first of May. However, despite his public record of not only facing off with the famed thief, and his own list of cases that he'd solved, the person he spoke with was very hesitant on providing any information to a teenager, detective or otherwise.

Sometimes Hakuba wished that he could somehow hurry up and join the police force or get a private investigator's license, since it was very hard for other people to take him seriously without proper credentials.

The man at the Sky Building had promised to get back to him once he consulted his superiors.

Hakuba let out a long sigh. Wishing for the future didn't bring it about any faster, nor did it help him with his current dilemma. The young detective turned back to his computer and started to run searches to see what random and obscure things Kaitou Kid was referencing this time.

* * *

Beside Aoko, her best friend Kaito let out a short yawn.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked again. "If you're so tired, you really should just go home and get into bed."

Stretching, Kaito replied, "No, don't worry about it. In all honesty, part of me wants nothing more than to curl up in my bed and ignore the world till I catch up on my REM, but a _much_ larger part of me is damn excited to actually look at an authentic Kaitou Kid note." And he gave her an absolutely winsome grin. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away. You'd have to chain me to a sinking freight ship and even _then_ I wouldn't completely give up the chance to see a Kid note."

"Thief-otaku," Aoko muttered, feeling a fair bit reassured by that bright smile.

"Tisk, tisk, Aoko," Kaito admonished. "I like his _magic_. His _style_. His stage presence is what I want when I start performing."

To that, at least, she gave a hearty laugh. "Good luck with that. You'd need the ego the size of America, both North and South, to even come close to that."

Her best friend scowled at her, insulted on his idol's behalf.

"Ne, Kaito?" she asked tentatively, looking at her watch.

"If you're going to insult the Cool Kaitou Kid, you can hold your breath."

She swatted at him. "That wasn't what I was going to ask." The magician looked properly apologetic and glanced at her curiously. "Knowing my Tou-chan, he's probably going to be running home from work to talk with you and show you the note. But I was planning on grocery shopping today. Do you mind a small detour?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow, pausing to consider her request. Then he got an entirely too manic grin. "No problem," he said with a certain giddy tone. "You've been wanting to work on your English and this is the perfect time. We can quiz you on the way!"

Aoko's face turned scarlet. "How'd you know my English grade's been dropping? Have you been snooping again, you sneak?" The indignity of it all! She flung her bag at him, wishing for the longer reach of her mop.

Unsurprisingly, he dodged around her again as she tried to bash and mash some manners into him. (Ultimately her endeavor proved fruitless, but that didn't mean she didn't _try_...).

Taking a deep breath and pulling off her jacket because of the warm spring sun, she finally turned her head from him.

"Oh, oh, Aoko, translate that! It's hilarious!"

Aoko steadfastly ignored him. Maybe if he didn't get the attention he was always trying to filch, he'd learn some humility.

"Come on, Aoko, don't be like that! It says, and I quote, 'Sale! Barge In!'"

Aoko ignored him.

"Oh, there's another one; the English doesn't match the Japanese at all. It says, 'It asks the customer for whom it smokes. So that smoke should not go outside, it smokes in the obituary of the area. Please continue your favors toward cooperation.' Damn, I think we could translate the English for them better than whoever that loser was."

Aoko tried very hard not to let her mouth twitch.

"Ah, more poor translations. Geez, where do they get these guys? How about 'Let's beautifully use everyone's pedestriar bridge. Tosses of chewing gum and garbage, etc. are violations of the society of manners.' How about that billboard? 'It is Drug mart SEGAMI has had good goods in stock for the visitor. Please start at once by all means.' Seriously who writes this stuff?"

Aoko could stand it no longer and started laughing, clutching her sides. Glancing around, she saw another, if simpler sign. Pointing, she read, "'Staff Onry'. Last I checked, when our whole class was grilled on the difference between L and R, that should read 'Staff Only', don't you think?"

Kaito beamed at her. "Very good, Aoko! Front of the class."

She chuckled and as the two of them went about shopping, pointing out English signs that seemed a little off in translation. (Kaito choked when Aoko pointed out a sign that advertised some form of iced tea that said, "Honeydew Bubble Tea: The joys of sucking on balls".) It was times like this that she reveled in all the immaturity that surrounded her. Aoko wasn't blind. She knew that she was immature, as well as almost everyone she knew. Kaito didn't have a mature bone in his body unless it was a second blue moon; Hakuba, for all his British reserve, was still obsessed and childishly chasing after a Phantom Thief like some sort of shounen manga star; and Aoko's own father suffered from the same affliction. Even Keiko thrived on gossip and holding on to, if not childhood, then teenager habits.

Aoko knew that she was surrounded by it, and that she herself didn't entirely want to face adulthood yet. That was something far off that she would deal with when she finally grew up. But she was starting to see, thanks to her new friend Ran, that maturity didn't necessarily mean leaving behind the fun. There was something about the detective's daughter that was not only mature, but very maternal and Aoko had latched onto it. She wasn't always cognizant of it, but she knew that she'd been missing her mother for a _very_ long time. And it was nice to be around someone who could be maternal.

Of course, Aoko understood that part of Ran's maternal streak stemmed quite heavily from the fact that she had to look after both her father and young charge Edogawa Conan, to say nothing of all the trouble that Conan and his friends could get into when playing detective. Aoko had listened to many a rant about how she wanted just _one day_ without a dead body falling down. (Aoko, after realizing just _how many_ cases Ran and her family ended up in, was _extremely_ glad her father chased after a nice non-violent Kaitou Kid most of the time...)

It was almost... reassuring... in a way, to have Ran as a friend. Ran, in some ways more than Kaito, was someone she could confide her deepest feelings and fears in. Kaito was always the first one there for her, but it was nice to have another _female_ friend to talk to. About things that Kaito didn't always understand. Aoko knew that she hadn't really started to notice boys yet. Oh, she knew that when she saw someone cute she would fantasize about what it would be like to have a boyfriend, but Aoko just didn't know of anyone she really cared to go out with, so she didn't bother. It seemed unnatural to her that she still hadn't had any boyfriends yet, and she'd be graduating high school soon.

It was Ran, with a knowing smile and a quiet chuckle, who had told Aoko that things happen with they're ready, and forcing things to happen before that only made things worse.

When Ran would say things like that, Aoko couldn't help but admire her new friend. Not only was she very mother-like, the detective's daughter seemed to carry the weight of hardship and fighting for every inch of what she had. Aoko didn't know what was behind that feeling. From what she knew, aside from bullying her father into work, Ran hadn't really had many true difficulties in her life.

But there was one thing that Ran would sometimes talk about. Almost lecture about, really, and that was secrets. Aoko herself never understood why people kept secrets. No, that wasn't entirely true; she understood small secrets. The whole "Oh, yes, that dress looks lovely on you," or a secret surprise party, things like that. But big secrets, something that ended up hurting someone else, Aoko had never understood. She'd never had a secret that big to hold onto, and neither had Kaito or her father. They were always honest with each other on the important things, which was the way things were supposed to be.

Ran, however, spoke of large secrets to keep people safe. That sometimes, people could be pushed so far into a corner, there was no other choice but to lie and hide. It seemed important for Ran to talk about this, and Aoko had a sneaking suspicion that Kudo, Ran's oft-absent boyfriend, had held some sort of major secret from Ran that had hurt immensely. But Aoko knew better than to pry into something so obviously personal. So Aoko, trying to be a good friend, attempted to understand. But it was difficult.

So times like this, when she was pointing to a sign of a little cart that served, "Fried Chicken, Fried Needles, Soft Cream," she put aside maturity for pure fun.

It was on the way home when Kaito stopped her. "Hey, Aoko! Look at this!"

They were in front of an electronic store with wide flat-screen TVs all lined up playing whatever movie had just come out. But Aoko perked when she noted that the actors weren't Japanese. They were American, or she guessed American. The accent didn't sound right. In fact, the accent sounded a little familiar... "British?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Kaito replied, "but I think so... Come on."

He dragged her inside, showing once again that he had the attention span of a hyperactive hummingbird on extra-caffeinated coffee.

They wandered to the back counter and found that the manager actually _was_ a foreigner. "Hello," Aoko tried out her English, (not that she had a choice with that evil gleam in Kaito's eye...) "This film is British, yes?"

The manager looked up, surprised, and smiled. "Yes," he replied slowly and clearly. "You have good ears to hear that. Most students are lucky to even identify it as English."

Aoko struggled to remember the translation for "identify". "Ah," she replied, listening to the movie again. There was a pilot on screen, yelling into a radio of some kind, but she couldn't translate what he was saying. "Please," she asked in her slow English, "What is the pilot saying? I don't know... meidei?"

"Mayday. It's a cry for help when someone is in trouble."

Aoko blinked, "But May is a month?"

The manager chuckled. "There is also a holiday called 'May Day'. The first of May can be celebrated as an ushering in of spring."

"Er, 'ashaaringu'?" Aoko struggled.

"That would be 'ushering'," Kaito translated by her ear.

"Oh I see," she switched back to Japanese. Looking to the manager, she replied in English, "I have no heart of this holiday. Is it a large holiday?"

The manager smiled, continuing to speak in slow, clear English as he and Aoko tried to speak of different holidays in different parts of the world. Once in a while, Kaito would translate for her (and once even asked for a translation himself) and the manager would correct her speech (such as saying "not" instead of "no"). When they were done the manager was looking very pleased and Aoko was rather proud of herself. Leave it to Kaito to come up with a completely unorthodox way to practice a subject she was starting to struggle with and have it do better than what the teacher taught in class. (Of course, Aoko had to admit that she _was_ good in her studies... that probably helped as well, but it was easier to blame the teacher...)

Kaito, unsurprisingly, looked very smug when she finally turned to leave the store and she was ready to swing her grocery bags at him when he attempted to bite back a yawn.

"Come on," she growled, still stifling the urge to whack him. "Let's get going before it gets much later."

"You're the boss."

She swatted at him anyway.

* * *

Nakamori Ginzo jogged down his street, cursing a blue streak to high heaven that he'd been held up at the station _again_, when he'd meant to leave early. He'd _promised_ his daughter that he'd be home for dinner so that he could go over the note with their neighbor and her classmate, Kaito. It wouldn't be the fist time Ginzo had brought Toichi's talented son in on an investigation. Ginzo would be the first to state that he understood thievery. (Given whom he chased, that wasn't really a surprise.) He understood larceny and what was needed to commit it. When Kaitou Kid had disappeared for eight years, he'd refined his knowledge of what thieves looked for in order to get what they were after. But magic had never ceased to elude him. Even Toichi, Ginzo's best friend, had _tried_ to help him understand some of the slight of hand and prestidigitation necessary for some of Kaitou Kid's more brazen tricks. But Ginzo could never really get it.

So having a magician on hand who was so willing to help and for free… well, it was no wonder that the inspector was running home to see what Kaito had to say. Plus, the damn note had been entirely in _English_. Ginzo had learned English in school (who hadn't, after all), but that was decades ago; aside from the random loan word in Japanese, he'd forgotten most of what had been pounded into his head of the language. Both Kaito and his dear Aoko would be a hell of a lot better than he was. Even though the note had been translated for him by one of his men, he trusted the kids who were actually _learning_ the language a bit more.

Finally reaching his home, Ginzo took a deep breath, pulling at his tie. Inside, he found some very delicious smells coming from the kitchen and the very easily identified sounds of Aoko chasing their neighbor around the house.

"Come back here, you perverted dumbass!"

"Awwww, can't you take a joke?"

"#&^$! I can't believe you did that _again_! _And put frosting there_!"

Ginzo couldn't help but laugh. He wondered when those two would realize that they loved each other. He was rather looking forward to having grandchildren from them one day. No doubt Toichi would be a happy spirit when that day came.

_CRASH!_

"Aw, _shit_, Aoko. I'm sorry... Dammit, that was your mother's, right? Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

Ginzo followed the voices into the kitchen and found both kids kneeling on the kitchen floor. Discarded with a clatter was Aoko's favorite mop for chasing Kaito and between the two was the remains of a glass serving tray and what looked like a cake that the two had been frosting before the chase had begun. Indeed, it was Aoko's mother's... Her favorite dish for serving cakes, pies, and pastries. That stung.

"Kaito-kun," he said, making the young magician jump, "would you mind getting the broom and dustbin?"

A firm nod of the head, and the boy made himself scarce. Ginzo crouched by his daughter, who was just looking at the pieces of glass and chunks of cake. There was no denying that it was beyond repair. Reaching out, Ginzo put his arm around her, much like he'd done in that horrible time just after they'd lost her, and Aoko would once again remember that she wasn't with them any more.

"Aoko-"

"It's okay, Tou-san."

"Oh?"

She let out a long sigh that hitched at the end. "I know that it's just a thing. We have pictures of her everywhere and we won't ever forget her. I _know_ that. This is just... a little sad... and very surprising..."

Ginzo nodded beside her, running his hand through her hair.

"You've grown up somewhere when I wasn't looking," he offered quietly. "I remember when you were about eleven and you broke one of her vases. You were almost inconsolable over it for about a week. You're being very mature about this and I'm proud of you."

"I most certainly am _not_ mature," Aoko mumbled.

"I think you are and I'm your father, so what I say goes."

She gave a quiet chuckle. "Well, then, oh-mighty-Otou-sama, you won't have your desert tonight."

He laughed. "You're cruel, Aoko."

"Ha, ha."

With a small sniff, Aoko stood, heading off to get slippers and being careful with the glass.

Once she left, Kaito came in and silently went to sweeping up the mess.

_Well, it looks like I'm still playing the dad tonight. I'm sorry, Toichi, but you're not here right now..._ "Kaito-kun, if you start blaming yourself for this, I _will_ be forced to lock you up and throw away the key."

The boy didn't even respond; Ginzo sighed. _Too much pain..._ He and Aoko had lost an important member of their family, and Kaito and his mother had lost an important member of their family. Both children suffered for it and were acutely attuned to what the other was feeling when such brutal reminders of loss appeared.

"Kaito-kun. If Aoko broke, say, a set of your father's glass juggling stones, due to the shenanigans you two play at, would you hold it against her?"

"Of _course_ not."

"Would your mother?"

"...No."

"Would Aoko?"

Kaito let out a grunt. "Doesn't stop me from _feeling_ guilty."

"No, it doesn't. But _knowing_ and _feeling_ are two different things. You can _feel_ guilty, as long as you know and understand that you _aren't_ guilty."

The young magician didn't respond, but Ginzo didn't expect him to. He'd watched the boy go through grief over Toichi's loss and knew that there were times when Kaito just had to work through it on his own. But with the right words, he would be fine. Still stung and hurting, but fine.

Time, after all, didn't heal wounds so much as made them sting less.

Aoko came in with another broom and a trash bag and the two went about cleaning up the mess, huddling near each other, but never quite touching. Nodding to himself, Ginzo left them to change out of his work clothes into something more comfortable. And a smoke. He could really use his pipe at the moment, because losing that dish stung for _him_ as well.

Dinner did a lot to get things back on track to their usual rowdy level of insults and joking. It was still a touch subdued, especially when it was time for dessert and nobody got up to bring anything in. But it was better than before. So Ginzo guided them into the living room.

"Alright, you two English students, here's the note."

Aoko's eyes went right for the last line. "Umeda? As in, the Sky Building in Osaka?" Ginzo nodded with pride. He'd picked that up as well when he'd seen the note translated to standard hiragana. (He'd ordered his team to use hiragana because Kid was known for so many kanji puns it was better to just look up all the possible kanji than to just assume...) That and the reference to touching the sky made him pretty sure he was heading to Osaka the following day. But the What and When were still eluding him.

"Week of gold," Kaito read. "Oh, it'll be during Golden Week! Awesome! Maybe I can head down there and watch!"

Aoko thwacked him and Ginzo smiled.

"A day that calls for help," Kaito continued, his eyes jumping all over the note. "That sounds familiar, doesn't it, Aoko?"

"You doofus," she growled. "Weren't you paying attention to that British shop keeper this afternoon? An English call for help is 'Mayday' which is also a holiday to welcome spring. It's how we got into that whole conversation about holidays to begin with!"

"Wait, what's this?" Ginzo interrupted. Granted, he'd called the Umeda Sky Building that day and knew there was going to be a jewel exhibit on the first of May, but his own daughter had picked up on that without doing legwork? There were days when Ginzo _swore_ he needed her on the force.

"We were talking to a manager," she started, explaining their afternoon of quizzing each other on English.

"Excellent," Ginzo took a puff from his pipe. "Very good. So did your English lessons today tell you what this Birth of Spring jewel is?"

Both shook their heads.

"Dammit... None of the jewels have that as their name. I'm going to have to look after _all_ of them..." That meant more men spread out and not in a good position. "_Shit_ this is going to suck worse than a brand new vacuum."

"There is one odd thing," Kaito mumbled. "This word. 'Rebealed'. Aoko, I know we got hit over the heads with R and L, but what about B and V?"

"Oh yeah," she mumbled, leaning over the note. "I think Kid actually misspelled something..."

Ginzo blinked. "Really? Which word?"

Kaito pointed. "That should be r-e-_v_-e-a-l-e-d. A V, not a B. Wonder why..."

"Maybe he needs you to tutor him on his English," Aoko stated flatly.

"Hey! Kid is too fantastic to..." Then Kaito _blushed_ at Aoko's compliment of him, redder than Ginzo had seen in a long time.

_Oh ho! Well, Toichi, look at your son now! I think he knows that he's in love with Aoko. Either that or he's getting there... Now if only my daughter would take off her blinders... But I don't think I'm going to get much more out of him... He's looking at her a little too much for my comfort and I will admit that I _do_ have a daughter complex. When Kaito-kun starts dating her, much as I approve of him, I'm going to give him hell. And Toichi, I think you'd approve._

Ginzo tried not to laugh too much as he started shooing Kaito out the door. The kids had helped him get a fresh perspective, and he'd be able to use that the following day when he went into the station.

**

* * *

Author's Note**: All those Engrish phrases are REAL. Looked them up and everything. Kinda sad, isn't it? ^_^ The English lessons made for a good set up for explaining "May Day" a bit more thoroughly than Hakuba's brief explanation. But here we have the heist. Wonder if anyone can figure out the rest of the note. Oh, just so you know, the note is in English for Hattori, not Hakuba. Kid would probably know that Hattori is extremely fluent in English and set the note up accordingly. The heist is ALL about a gift to Hattori, so it made sense for the note to be aimed to him as well.

Aoko has always been something of a lonely soul, who fills her life to ignore the empty house. But she still remains perky and is rather good at bullying Kaito, isn't she? And speaking of Kaito, doesn't he have a dirty little mind? He's going to get frustrated rather quickly, won't he?

Hakuba has always been a bit of a pain to write. In the manga, he doesn't have enough screen time to really have much character other than rival of Kaito and Kaitou Kid, and something of a polite by-the-book type. So trying to, essentially, CREATE a character for him has left many different interpretations online. So we've tried to work from scratch and give him character, but it still leaves him as rather elusive and difficult. Hopefully he comes off as close to in-character, as opposed to horribly out-of-character...

Nakamori took a minute to figure out, but once he told us about looking over Kaito like a son and occasionally talking to his good friend Toichi, he actually became rather easy to write. Go figure.

Next time: A meeting of sorts. And a conversation that doesn't happen.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four**

"We're almost at the station now," Nakamori was saying as he watched his daughter and her best friend quibbled over Kaito's latest offense. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Give me an hour to make sure my daughter's taken care of; then I'll be right there. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, see you then."

Kaito looked up when Nakamori clipped his phone shut, an all too familiar vein pulsing on the side of his temple just behind his eyebrow.

"Aw, trouble in paradise?" Kaito asked in perfect innocence.

"Damn owner of the jewel collection's getting all pissy-wissy about the security we're offering. Damn foreign know-it-all son-of-a-bitch shit-head."

"Tou-san!" Aoko tsked, glaring at her father's poor language.

"Sorry, honey," Nakamori offered with sincerity, looking sheepish. "It just falls out before I realize it."

The girl snorted and turned her head away, leaving Kaito to smile fondly at her, before becoming a little too conscious of her father's knowing look. He found himself involuntarily blushing, and coughed to try and cover it up. This only made Nakamori grin all the more.

A pleasant voice announced the station they were arriving at, and Kaito was the first to get up and reach overhead to collect the bags. The car slowed to a stop, but the student moonlighting as a thief didn't even notice as he continued hauling their bags off the shelf.

"Kaito, how do you always do that?" Aoko demanded as she started hefting her overnight bag.

"I'm a magician," he offered happily. "I can't let you know all my secrets."

She snorted. "Like you _have_ any secrets."

Kaito inwardly stiffened, knowing the hell that would come if she ever learned the truth, but shrugged it off. He didn't notice her sudden quiet, her eyes widening as something occurred to her.

Crowding with everyone as they exited the train to the platform, Kaito turned to see Nakamori was once again on the phone, and once again swearing a blue streak. He glanced at Aoko and she simply shrugged her shoulders, admitting defeat and rolling her eyes as a particularly vicious word erupted from her father's mouth.

"Kaito-nii-chan!"

Kaito straightened, abject terror - to say nothing of panic - exploding in his veins as he recognized that child's voice. Weight suddenly wrapped around his leg and he looked down in growing horror.

"I finally caught you! Kaitou-nii-chan!" the voice attached to the weight said happily.

Panic. Unfettered, uncontrolled panic. Only all his experience as Kid kept him from showing it, and it was everything he could do to kick said panic into a bag and toss it to the four winds. Options were considered in the span of a breath as he stared down at that _evil_ grin that was innocently staring up at him and finally he decided on a course of action.

"Ah! It's an ankle-biter! Look out Aoko!"

And with all his might he lifted his leg up and tried to kick one Edogawa Conan off his leg. The teen turned toddler had a vice-like grip, however, and he absolutely _would not let go_. He was considering disappearing in a puff of smoke but Aoko, damn her, thwacked him on the head. "That's dangerous, Kaito!" she reprimanded, before pulling Conan off of his leg. "And you!" she admonished, shaking a finger at the seeming seven year old. "His name is Kaito. Ka-i-to! Kaitou means phantom thief and there's no way that idiot magician is a phantom thief, you got that?"

Conan frowned innocently, and said Kaitou Kaito decided, not for the first time, that the kid's acting abilities were damn good when he wanted them to be.

"Didn't I say Kaito-nii-chan?" he asked.

"Sorry about that," Ran said, quickly appearing through the crowd, her father trailing after her, looking bored out of his mind. "He's been talking about the Kaitou Kid note the entire train ride," she offered, taking the boy's hand in hers. "He's really excited."

Nakamori finally hung up his phone and turned to see the recently arrived Mouri family. "Eh? You're going to be here too?" he asked with a flat gaze.

"Afraid a famous detective like me will rain on your parade?" Kogorou asked in an attempt to be suave. Kaito could clearly see the electric sparks beginning to bounce off the older men. The girlfriend was quick to placate. "We were invited," she said quickly, stepping between her father and Nakamori. "Hattori Heiji-kun had called us when he got a note, and since Shinichi couldn't make it, Hattori-kun asked us to come instead. Don't worry, we'll," she gestured to herself and put a hand on the kid, "be as unobtrusive as possible." Mouri glared over her shoulder, making several unbecoming faces in an attempt to provoke Nakamori.

Aoko quickly stepped up in front of her father. "Thank you for letting my dad know beforehand," she said quickly, "and if you or... Hattori-kun?... have any inspiration, then please let my father know. Please regard my father kindly." She bowed politely.

Ran bowed as well. "Please regard us kindly," Ran responded.

Kaito grinned as he looked down to the kid. "You know, if girls ran the world it would be a much more peaceful place." The teen thief raised an eyebrow when he saw the openly _loving_ gaze that was plastered on the fake child's face. Curious beyond measure, Kaito squatted down and tilted his head down to get a better look. "Careful, ankle-biter," he said with a smirk, "or your face will freeze like that."

Conan started slightly and put on a more schooled look before turning to glare at Kaito. "The same could be said for you just now," he offered with not a small amount of spite.

Kaito's face slacked on surprise for only a fraction of a second before he recovered. "You're pretty good for an ankle-biter," he said brightly, "but let's just keep that little nugget between us. If she found out, she'd kill me with a mop."

The grin on Conan's face was a little too knowing for Kaito's comfort. "I suppose that would be true," he said, his tone a little lower, his words a little older. "And if she didn't, Inspector Nakamori probably would."

And _that_ little comment made Kaito loose a drop of sweat down the back of his neck, and he couldn't imagine why. Well, no, he could imagine all too well _why_ Conan could make him sweat - his Everything-Possible-Goes-Wrong nightmares had _both_ Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan biting at his heels - but while he intellectually understood that there was no reason for him to sweat (yet), he couldn't help but feel that somehow the teen toddler _knew_ his night job and that he was in Deep Shit because of it.

None of these swirling thoughts came up to his face, though; he just gave a wry smile and replied, "You're probably right there."

"Right about what?" Aoko asked, and Kaito suddenly (and justifiably) felt like Lady Luck decided to take a day off from him.

"Kaito-nii-chan was just saying," Conan chirped brightly, "that you were probably wearing pink underwear today, and I said that it was rude to guess, and he said I was probably right."

_Damn you, Kudo_, Kaito thought viciously.

"Kaitoooooooooooooo..."Aoko said with a fiery (and distractingly attractive) flush across her face, fist raised in warning.

"Ah! See! You called him Kaitou-nii-chan too!"

"Ah, Conan-kun," Ran said quickly, "Not a good idea."

And it was true, because metaphorical fire was radiating off of the teen girls' battle aura.

"He did _what_?" Nakamori's outraged cry interceded an impending bloodshed. Kaito breathed a sigh of relief and was more than pleased to see Conan do the same. "That +_)(*!~ piece of ~!#$%^&*()_ of _)(*&~! Hell yes you tell him I said that! Bastard!"

Snapping his phone shut with a growl he turned to Aoko. "Stupid overbearing shit-head silver-spooned _bastard_ went and hired snipers to help guard his collection! I got to go, damnit, and give him a piece of my _mind_!" There was a growl and a long string of curse words that followed, but ultimately he gave a great sigh, putting a hand to his forehead. "Aoko," he pleaded. "Can you find the hotel yourself?"

Kaito frowned in sympathy, and Aoko quickly piped up. "Of course, Tou-san. Not a problem; Kaito and I will be fine. Go do your thing, we understand."

Nakamori swept his daughter up into a fierce hug, making the teenagers and Mouri flush a little in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, honey," he said quietly. "I'll be back as quick as I can."

"I know, Tou-san, I know," Aoko said with an equally soft voice. Kaito saw the quick and sharp look of pain on her face before she took a breath and steadied herself. "I'll have everything settled and put away for you," she said brightly, pulling out of the hug. "You take care of the heist."

Nakamori nodded, his own pain equally sharp on his face before he turned and walked through the station, phone open and a string of curses being left in his wake.

Mouri stared after the other man, an eyebrow quirked. "He doesn't expect me to-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll break your wrist," Ran said very brightly. Kaito knew the threat was because the Great Snoring Kogorou was about to complain about watching kids that weren't his own. "We can at least keep them company until Hattori-kun shows up."

The older man yawned. "Fine, fine." The quintet left the station and crossed a street, settling down on a bench. The girls were already in deep conversation; Mouri was digging through his pockets for a cigarette. Kaito affected being bored, but he was more interested in the little tidbit about snipers. He'd have to sneak into Nakamori's team and find out what the collector had in mind. He knew the foreigner had top-notch security - he'd already looked through all the plans, before and after the heist note - but this was the first he'd heard of snipers. He hadn't thought the old man to be quite so bloodthirsty, and Kaito considered himself a good judge of character considering the amount of research he'd done on the man. Could it be a show of force? Or was the guy possessive enough to actually kill to prevent theft?

Narrow blue eyes the exact color as his own focused on him very intently, and Kaito decided to stare right back. "What?" he asked with fake indignation. Inside he was nervous again.

The knowing gaze immediately disappeared to an innocent, questioning gaze. "I was wondering," he said brightly, and in a voice just loud enough to attract the girls' attention. "If you know the color of Aoko-nee-chan's underwear, then what's the color of yours?"

"Conan-kun!" Ran said in scandal.

Aoko burst out laughing. "Yes, Kaito, just what color _are_ you wearing today?"

Kaito was not about to let this get under his skin. "Oooh, Aoko," he said, nudging her. "I didn't know you wanted to know that badly. You know if you're really interested then why not drop by tonight and-"

"_Kaito!_" And there was a resounding swing that Kaito ducked with practiced ease.

* * *

"Conan-kun, come here right this instant!" Conan cringed, knowing he had gone too far with that comment to Kuroba. Aoko continued to swipe and swat at Kaito, and Kogorou was yawning in boredom. Ran pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "What is going _on_ with you?"

Conan knew he owed an explanation. He'd made a point of making sure she talked to Aoko about secrets the night of the Budokan murder, and then turned around and voluntarily spent time with his kids while Ran went off to visit with the girl - deliberately avoiding Kuroba. Now that they were face to face, he went and pounced on him and teased him at every possible opportunity. It was contradictory behavior, and Conan looked down in shame, knowing he was giving mixed messages.

"I..." he started, looking up at her, then frowned, trying to find the right words. "... Ask me after the heist," was all he could offer, wincing at the lameness of the excuse.

Ran frowned, not happy with the answer, but something in her face conveyed understanding on at least some level. She nodded. Conan was not used to being in this kind of situation. More often than not, he had too little information and not enough resources and was struggling to find leads; but now he had almost too much information and too many ways to handle it, and he wasn't sure what avenue would be best for him to take.

Kuroba was _right there in front of him_, he didn't have to wait until the heist to talk to him, but too many people were there: Ran, Aoko, Occhan, earlier _Nakamori_… it wasn't the right time. It irked him to no end when he realized it, and could only act the part of a little child. He had even tried to impress upon Kuroba that they needed to talk, deliberately calling him "Kaitou-nii-chan," but he either missed the reference (entirely unlikely) or decided to ignore it. That had only irked him further, and the fake elementary student had reduced himself to petty teasing either to blow off steam or divert the magician's keen attention.

Even now, Conan was looking out the side of his vision as the teen magician danced and pranced around Aoko, and realized the teen magician was watching him just as intently out of the corner of _his_ eye. Conan cursed and turned the other way.

"Hey," Kogorou said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "How long before that brat comes to pick us up?"

"Tou-san," Ran admonished, "don't be rude; I'm sure they're on their way."

Aoko turned from her latest swing. "May I ask who you're waiting for, anyway?"

"Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan," Ran explained brightly. "They're friends of ours, and whenever we're in Osaka, Hattori-kun always makes a point of looking out for us. You should meet Kazuha-chan, Aoko-chan, I think the two of you would get along very well."

"Really?" she asked brightly, sitting back down on the bench. "What's she like?"

"I've told you a little bit about her before," Ran explained, glancing at Conan and giving him a smile.

Oh, how he loved her. He pattered past her and Kogorou and back up to Kuroba. "Ne, Kaito-nii-chan?" he asked brightly. "What brings you to Osaka? Aoko-nee-chan is here because of her father, right? So why are you here?"

Kuroba smiled brightly, squatting down to his eye level. "Mom got in contact with some family she was estranged from for a while and found out they were living here in Osaka. I'm off to spend Golden Week with them."

"But don't you think it's strange?" Conan offered, his mind calculating, "that your mom isn't with you? If she's the one who found them, then shouldn't she be with you?"

"You'd be right, ankle-biter, except Mom twisted her foot last week and the doctor said they wanted her to stay off it. She'll be joining me later."

"How's she doing anyway?" Aoko interjected, turning from Ran.

"Complaining up a storm," Kaito said happily.

"Ran-chaaaaaan!"

Everyone looked up to see a certain akido master, her ponytail swinging back and forth in a yellow ribbon that matched her sleeveless turtleneck, waving and half jogging up to them. Trailing behind her was a much taller, dark-skinned teen that looked equally happy to see them. "Yo! Nee-chan, Conan-kun," he said brightly, completely bypassing the older Kogorou. "Sorry we're late, Kazuha wuz too busy stuffin' her face ta notice the time."

"Heiji!" Kazuha cried out, scandalized. She dug an elbow into his ribs hard enough to leave the Detective of the West coughing.

"You're right, Ran-chan," Aoko said brightly. "I think I'll like her very much." She gave a meaningful glance at Kaito that _reeked_ of possibilities, and Conan couldn't help but grin at the suddenly trapped look on the magical thief's features.

"Ne, ne," he said brightly, raising his hand, "Can I introduce everyone?"

"Of course, Conan-kun," Kazuha said brightly, bending down to smile at him.

"Edogawa Conan, detective!" he said brightly, spinning around and then pointing in turn. "Hattori Heiji-nii-chan, Detective of the West; his father is famous here. Mouri Kogorou-ojii-chan, the Great Sleeping Kogorou, who actually snores a lot." He dodged a fist from the older man. "Mouri Ran-nee-chan. I'm going to marry her when I grow up." The list of reactions for that were particularly interesting: ranging from Kazuha and Aoko cooing at how cute he was, to Hattori and Kuroba sputtering to the point of choking, to Kogorou taking a more determined swat, to Ran's eyes becoming very wide and a beautiful bright red coloring her cheeks. He gave her a slight smile before pressing on, "Toyama Kazuha-nee-chan. She's an akido master and her father helps Heiji-nii-chan's father." Pointing to the latest acquaintances he continued: "Nakamori Aoko-nee-chan. Her dad's Inspector Nakamori of the Kaitou Kid task force. He swears a lot. And Kuroba Kaito-nii-chan," he ended with a secretly flat grin, "A stupid know-it-all magician."

"All those great introductions and all I get is _that_?" Kuroba said in great indignation.

Aoko snorted behind her hand. "I don't know," she said brightly. "I think it's pretty accurate."

"So yer dad's here fer the heist?" Hattori said, perking up in interest after he'd finally stopped choking. "Be sure ta tell him I said hi; I gotta note too, and me an' Kudo've almost cracked it."

Conan saw Kaito steal a sharp and knowing grin at the two of them, but turned around and quickly returned to being the injured magician.

"Ran-chan, what a pretty necklace! Where'd ya get it?"

"From Shinichi," Ran said with pride.

"I'll gladly let my father... wait, you mean you saw him?" Aoko said, spinning around. "I thought you said you never do!"

"I don't, but he was able to sneak away last week and-"

"Lemme see, lemme see."

"It's so pretty! What kind of stone is that?"

"Heiji'd never have such good taste."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"No appreciation for an abused magician..."

"Ran-chan, yer so lucky!"

"Yer a fine one ta talk, Kazuha."

"Really? An' what've _you_ done?"

"Why do I gotta do anythin'?"

"Ahou!"

"Ahou!"

"Ran-chan, are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately, yes, they are."

Conan stared at the growing disarray of conversation and decided he would _never_ get the six of them together for any reason. _Ever_. They would never get anything done.

Kogorou, however, finally decided he had better things to do than be bored out of his mind. He attempted to give a polite cough and, when that didn't work, stomped on his cigarette and announced: "SOME of us need to get to a HOTEL," before crossing his arms and glaring at the menagerie of teenagers.

"Oh, y're not stayin' at a hotel," Hattori said. "I wuz gonna have ya stay at my place, but Pops got all pissy over it."

"My folks're away on a conference," Kazuha added, her face bright. "I've got lots of room, so yer gonna be stayin' with me. Ain't it great?"

Before Kogorou could refuse, Ran quickly clapped her hands together. "Yes, that's wonderful! We can have all evening to catch up! And Hattori could keep Conan-kun entertained. I know he secretly likes it."

"Ah-!"

"Don' even try ta object, Heiji, I know ya like it too!"

"But-!"

"It's decided!" Ran said excitedly. She turned to Kuroba and Aoko, and Conan saw that the teen thief was eyeing Aoko with softer eyes, and when he looked over he realized the girl had a slightly cracked smile on her face. It made him frown. Quickly writing some numbers down, Ran gave a slip of paper to the other girl. "I know your father already has a hotel arranged; but as soon as you're settled, call and we can catch up some more. The three of us must have breakfast together, and I'm sure Kazuha would like to get to know you."

"Agreed," Aoko said, taking the paper. She turned slightly to her friend, and Conan watched as Kaito was actually squirming. "You should get going to your relatives, too, Kaito. I'll be fine."

The phantom thief stared at Aoko for a long time, before shrugging his shoulders and putting on a crooked grin. "I can at least walk you to the hotel," he said brightly. "I've never met these relatives before, and you never know; they may just kidnap me and hold me hostage for days before the let me go."

Aoko made a face. "You _always_ say that when you're off to meet relatives."

"You never know, this time it might be true. Come on, any excuse to stall for me. Please?"

Aoko sighed and gave in, and Conan saw the relieved smile on her face. "Okay," she relented.

The pair bowed and said their goodbyes, and Conan saw his opportunity to talk walking away with them. Inexplicably, he found his feet following them slightly. "Kaito-nii-chan!" he called out, and flushed when he realized he said it out loud.

Kuroba turned around, his face carefully blank. "What?" he called out.

"... Nothing," Conan said finally, and he turned, closing the door and knowing that the opportunity had been lost. All that was left would be the heist; and perhaps that would be the better ground to have a conversation.

Ran lowered her hand for his, and he took it. She gave a questioning look, and Conan could only shake his head, his mind on other things.

"... Nothing," he said to her.

**Author's Notes**: Kaito is fun to write :P I believe we've mentioned this before.

Not much to say in this chapter, other than double talk, double meanings, and double entendre is really hard to do. Tried to squeeze in a part for Kogorou, but as always the teenagers took over.

Conan missed his chance to talk to Kaito. He's rather frustrated with that. Ah well, there's always the heist. Of course we have to _get_ to the heist first. Lots of set up next chapter and more explanations of the note. (Because we're rather proud of it...)


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five**

It was early, _early_ morning when Conan quietly snuck into Ran's room. He'd had a restless night, going over how to get Kaitou Kid alone during the heist to have a proper conversation about things, to say nothing of how he was going to do that under Hattori's nose. Really, Hattori was a _good_ friend, his best friend, but Hattori's one failing was that he was so honest. Proved by the simple fact that the Osakan needed to damn near be hit over the head before he remembered to refer to Conan as Conan instead of by his true name. Because of that, Hattori _couldn't_ know what Conan was planning. It just made things more complicated and difficult. So the small detective sought out someone that he _could_ speak more frankly to about this.

"Shinichi," Ran whispered, rubbing her eyes when he sat on her bed.

"Hey, Ran."

She yawned, stretched under the blankets, and Shinichi gave her a few minutes to wake up. While she had always been an extremely heavy sleeper (despite her protests to the contrary), she had trained herself to wake up when these times came. It still took time for her to get enough of her brain online to discuss things, but Shinichi didn't mind the time to admire her sleep-tousled form.

With one final stretch, Ran sat up, reached over to the nightstand, and turned on a flashlight, pointing it to the ceiling. It gave them some light to talk with. "Can I assume I'll get a proper explanation for your behavior today?"

Oh yeah. That. Shinichi let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "During that magic bullet murder case at the Budokan, I... learned something about Kuroba."

Ran raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You didn't reveal anything through Hakuba-san."

Shinichi hesitated. He'd avoided talking about Kuroba's big secret. Ran didn't even know it had existed. But Shinichi had promised to be honest, and he was going to be as honest as possible.

"Kuroba's secret... It didn't really have bearing on that case... Not that way... His secret is... It's just..." He struggled. It would be easier to discuss this if Ran knew, but Kuroba's secret was a big one. One that didn't just affect Shinichi, but could have side-effects on Ran. Like it or not, Shinichi's ingrained habit of keeping Ran safe by keeping her ignorant was still a strong instinct. But he also understood that Kuroba's secret of being the Phantom Thief Kaitou Kid was something that really wasn't Shinichi's secret to tell. He hadn't learned it on a heist, he'd stumbled upon it outside of the game. That wasn't fair and it was why he needed to talk to Kuroba.

"It's not your secret to tell, is it Shinichi?"

He shook his head. "I'm _sorry_, Ran. I _hate_ keeping things from you. But this... It's big and complicated. I need to talk to him, but there were too many people around." Shinichi shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "I took out my frustration by teasing him. I couldn't talk to him so I behaved childishly." A dry, bitter chuckle. "Of course, one would expect that from a child."

"Shi-Ni-Chi," Ran drawled out his name in annoyance.

"Sorry, Ran."

She nodded imperiously. "That's better." They smiled at each other before Ran let out another sigh. "When will I know?"

"That depends on a lot of things. I'll... talk to Kuroba after the heist. Kaitou Kid comes first and that's why I came in."

"I'm going to help you."

Shinichi cringed. He'd been expecting that. He couldn't deter her when she got _that_ look in her eye, he'd just have to work with it. Better than arguing with her on the merit of her even being there.

"The problem is going to be Hattori. He can't know about this."

A muscle under Ran's eye twitched. "You're going to keep secrets from him?"

Shinichi sighed. "Please, give me an alternative. Hattori's so perceptive, so insightful, he's going to notice when I start mentioning places I want to be or where you should be. He's going to know that I'm not at this heist to catch Kid, but for something else. But _he's_ going to be there to catch Kid. Both of those desires conflict. We're going to get in each other's way. Plus, he'll be interacting with Nakamori. You've _seen_ how difficult it is for him to even call me 'Conan'. Can you picture him not slipping anything to Nakamori? Even if Nakamori doesn't notice, Hakuba will."

"Hakuba-san?" Ran blinked. "He'll be there as well?"

Shinichi nodded. "With Kaitou Kid? Hell yes, he'll be there." Another sigh. "Besides, this is Hattori's heist. Kid invited him specifically as a 'thank you' from when the two of them saved my ass from Psycho-sensei. By trying to talk to Kid, I'm essentially hijacking the heist from Hattori. I don't want to take that away from him by barging in and saying I need to talk to Kid. This is _his_ heist. Please, Ran, if you have a better option, I am _all_ ears."

She was silent for a while, turning the problem over in her mind. Shinichi was sincere. He'd known the terrible price of secrets for a _long_ time now. He himself was buried under so many that sometimes it was hard to breath, especially if he got even a _hint_ of _Them_ anywhere. But making and keeping secrets had become an ingrained survival instinct so thoroughly a part of him now that it was hard to see ways to _not_ keep secrets. It was one of the things that made Ran so wonderful. She was an outside set of eyes for him.

Time continued to tick by while Ran mulled the problem over. Shinichi knew it was a difficult one and if he had any sort of option, he would be glad to hear it.

Ran finally let out a small sigh. "Shinichi," she said with a tender quality to her voice, "if you weren't trying to be so considerate of Hattori-kun, this would be so much easier."

He gave a small grin.

"All right. We won't tell Hattori-kun. But we're not going to _lie_ to him either."

Shinichi hung his small head. "Another case of 'I can't tell you, so just trust me'?"

"Yes."

Stretching back, he replied. "It's Hattori. He'll probably understand better than anyone else, but he's going to pester the _hell_ out of me."

Ran gave a wry grin. "And whose fault is that?"

"Kid's," he replied flatly.

They both chuckled quietly. Shinichi nodded to himself and scooted to the side of her bed, ready to maybe get some actual _sleep_, when Ran touched his shoulder.

"By the way, Shinichi. About marrying me when you grow up..."

* * *

Heiji did not consider himself a suspicious person. Oh, when he was on a case, he followed clues and deductions and held a lot of suspicions of people, but generally in his everyday life, he considered himself very laid back. Things happened as they did and things worked out fine as they would. Unless something sketchy deliberately caught his attention, Heiji didn't really go about looking in people's closets to find their deepest, darkest secrets.

But looking at the map of the Umeda Sky Building, and looking at where Kudo was suggesting that he and Nee-chan should be, Heiji found himself incredibly suspicious of his best friend.

Nobody else was currently in the house. Kazuha and Nee-chan had gone out for breakfast with that Nakamori girl, and given the look that Nee-chan had given Kudo, it was understood that she would be part of the festivities. May Day was just over a day away, and he and Kudo both knew that Kaitou Kid would be going for the Birth of Spring at 12:55. That very particular time being 57.5 degrees. Or rather, the angle between the minute and hour hand when it made a 'V' on the clock. Alternatively, since Kid hadn't specified which was the minute or hour hand, the time could also be 11:05. But both Hattori and Kudo had looked at the weather reports. For one o'clock in the morning for the first of May, it would be a clear night. But for 11:05 at night on the first of May, thunderstorms would be rolling in.

And as for which jewel the Birth of Spring was, Heiji had done some research. There was only one jewel that didn't have a translation for the name: a stone of fire agate with a large red light in the middle surrounded by blue and purple pinpricks. Legend around the rock was that it was a Mojave treasure from the Native Americans that had been sold to a British trader as a gift for some English royalty. The stone had supposedly been lost around Florida and rumors around it included it being dipped in Florida's legendary Fountain of Youth before it turned up in a British private collection. Just the type of jewel that Kaitou Kid would like and given that it went under its Mojave name (which was damn near unpronounceable to the Japanese tongue) and Mojave had no written language, both Heiji and Kudo were fairly sure they had the right jewel.

But what had Heiji looking twice at his shrunken friend was where Kudo wanted to be stationed and where he wanted Nee-chan stationed during the heist.

Nee-chan would be on the street with a laptop that would be linked to the cameras in the building, keeping an eye on everything and relaying information. It would keep her involved, but she would be out of harm's way. Assuming, of course, that she accepted that, but Heiji was pretty sure that Kudo could convince her. Heiji would be in the thick of things with Nakamori and his men, keeping a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary. (Heiji did not like this because it meant he'd be in the same room as Hakuba, but he couldn't quite let himself pass up the opportunity to poke at Hakuba for his sleeping-detective routine that Kudo had pulled off. He was going to _enjoy_ that...) Kudo, however, should be planning to also be with Heiji and Hakuba in spotting the thief. But he wasn't.

Kudo wanted to station himself on the top of the building for when Kid tried to escape via hand-glider. For starters, that was already assuming that Heiji wouldn't have been able to catch Kid, and secondly, it was unlike Kudo to not be in the thick of things.

"Hey, what are ya playin' at?"

"Hn?" Kudo was still studying the maps and building layouts.

"Seriously, Kudo. Why're ya puttin' yerself _there_ instead of with me?"

"...This is your heist, Hattori."

"Bullshit."

The truncated detective sighed. "Look, Hattori. I'm not going to this heist for the same reason as you. I'm placing myself where I _need_ to be. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"Hell no, Kudo. _You_ are gonna tell me _what_ is goin' through that thick skull o' yours."

"No."

"Why the hell _not_?"

Kudo looked away. "This is different for me, Hattori. I can't explain why. Not until after the heist. And maybe not even then. I have a damn good reason to be on the roof instead of with you at the exhibition. I won't interfere with you. This is your heist and I don't want to take that away from you, but there is something that I need to do there."

... What the hell? Heiji leaned forward, invading Kudo's personal space. "That don't make _any_ sense, Kudo."

"That's all I can give, Hattori. Take it or leave it."

"'scuze me? That's it? That's all I get? Don' I deserve better 'n that?"

"Yes. You do."

"Then _why_-"

"It's not my place!" Kudo yelled, looking him in the eye. "It's not my place. I can't be part of the game like I usually am. So I'm pulling myself out and dealing with it differently."

Heiji narrowed his eyes, not believing what he was hearing. "So that's it? Leave yer best friend 'n the dark 'n' go off chasin' things _alone_? Kudo, you... you... _ahou_!" He gestured at the difference in their stature. "Didn't ya learn _anything_ 'bout workin' alone the _last_ time ya did?"

Kudo winced for a fraction of a second before glaring at Heiji icily. The Osakan detective knew that last sentence had crossed a line and he'd regretted it the instant he'd said it.

"Sorry, Kudo... That wuz uncalled for... I..."

But the small detective said nothing, glaring at him. Standing he walked to the doorway before turning. "I'll be on the roof. You may deserve better, but I'm giving everything I can. And, Hattori _I_ deserve better than having this," he gestured to himself, "thrown back in my face."

"Oi, Kudo!"

But it was too late. The small form had stomped away and disappeared upstairs, slamming a door.

Heiji sat back, regretting what he'd said, but still stinging over Kudo not telling him anything. "Well this sure wasn' how I wanted ta spend my Gold'n Week."

* * *

When Aoko had packed to head down to Osaka, she had known that Kaito would be off with family and that her father would be busy with the heist. She knew that most of her trip would be her alone. It was no surprise, and she had rather been looking forward to playing the tourist. She had even called some travel agents and asked around to try and find some tours that might be a good way for her to take in the sights while those close to her were busy.

She was delighted, however, when she'd come across Ran on the platform, and even more pleased to have Ran invite her out to breakfast with another friend, Kazuha. Spending time with friends was infinitely more preferable to taking a tour alone. Why, just the past hour, she and Kazuha had spent a great deal of time getting to know each other, sharing stories, growling at the idiocy of guys, and laughing.

"So Hattori-kun has no idea how you feel?" she said around giggles. "That didn't even give him a clue?"

"Nope," Kazuha replied, taking another bite of a large cinnamon bun with frosting dripping down the side. "I swear, he may be a swell detective, but he c'n be so _clueless_."

Ran shrugged between them, sipping her juice. "Then why don't you clarify things for him, Kazuha-chan?"

And the Osakan's face went scarlet. "He ought ta figure it out!" she defended before whirling to Ran. "'n' what 'bout Kudo? Has _he_ gotten a clue yet?"

To that, Ran absolutely beamed. Aoko turned to Kazuha, and Kazuha turned to Aoko.

"Do tell!" they both squealed.

Ran blushed, but still smiled sweetly. "He talked to me the other day."

"Ov'r the phone? That dimwit."

"No, no, when he gave me this," Ran replied, gesturing to the necklace. "We talked about... marriage."

"He proposed!" Aoko gushed. She may be a tomboy, but she _did_ understand romance.

"No, not quite," Ran looked down, stroking the jewelry. "He's not in any position to propose properly, he told me that flat out. He doesn't know when he'll be able to be back properly and he's frustrated by that, but we _did_ talk about marriage." And Ran's smile seemed to sadden slightly. "When he comes back, we'll still need to work out a few things, we both know that, but if everything works out..."

"That damn Kudo," Kazuha growled. "He's _still_ leavin' ya hangin' around waitin' for him."

"No," Ran shook her head. "He's actually being very honest. He knows what he wants, but he doesn't know if he can manage it right now."

Aoko smiled, patting Ran's hand. "That's very mature of him. I've always felt that straightforward and direct are the better way to handle things."

"Not always," Ran replied, raising an eyebrow. "Haven't I been telling you?"

"Yes, yes," Aoko scowled. "I know. Everyone keeps secrets and sometimes, no matter how much it hurts, they can have a _good_ reason to."

Kazuha looked intently at Ran. "When'd ya get _that_ sorta logic?"

"Last fall, when Shinichi finally talked to me about what he's doing." There was a distinct look in her eye. "No, you won't find out what. I made a promise and I'm going to keep it."

Both Aoko and Kazuha gave Ran puppy eyes.

She laughed. "No!"

"Hn," Aoko scowled again as she sat back, crossing her arms in the air of a huff. She grabbed another piece of French toast to munch on as she thought. She could be wrong, but the previous day, she had realized something.

_"I'm a magician," he offered happily. "I can't let you know all my secrets."_

_She snorted. "Like you _have_ any secrets."_

Maybe Kaito _did_ have secrets. But then, how could she not know? They were best friends, knew each other inside out, etc. But Kaito was always able to keep his magical secrets, to the point where Aoko didn't bother to try and figure out how he did things any more. But if he kept those secrets so well, if he was training for a job that held secrecy close to the chest, what else could he be hiding that she wasn't aware of? It couldn't be anything major. But if it wasn't, why not just share with her?

"What 'bout _you_, Aoko-chan?" Kazuha asked brightly. "You 'n' that magician goin' out?"

"That pervert? No way," was her automatic response. "He's my best friend and he's too much of a moron to be anything more." It was good to distract her from thoughts of what Kaito may or may not be hiding.

"Pervert?" Kazuha asked.

"Yup," Aoko sat forward, taking another bite of her toast. "He's always flipping my skirt, and just last week, I'd wrangled a promise out of him not to do so, so he flipped my _shirt_ instead. And that night! He also..." Aoko trailed off as her face turned bright red. Not only had he flipped her shirt while they had been frosting the cake, he'd taken some of that frosting and placed it... Gah! She couldn't even think about it!

Ran and Kazuha smiled knowingly at each other. "My, my, Aoko-chan."

"I'd say yer m'gician's got th' hots fer ya."

Aoko's blush intensified. "No _way_! He's way too immature, way too stupid, way too obsessed with Kaitou Kid..."

"Does he flip anyone else's skirt?"

"...No..." No way. Kaito? And her? But they were best friends! She didn't look at him like that, there was no way he'd look at her that way either! Flipping her skirt because he wanted to look at _her_ not just a girl's butt or to annoy her? Flipping her shirt to check _her_ out instead of retaliation for being denied flipping her skirt? Using his own fingertips to put frosting... To touch her... To caress her... NO EVER LOVING WAY!

"Does he tease anyone else as much as you?"

"Hakuba-kun." Yes, Kaito teased Hakuba as much as he teased her. In fact, Kaito probably teased Hakuba more just to make up for lost time in not having the half-British detective in class for so many years the way he'd had Aoko. So there was no way that Kaito looked at her differently than any other friend.

"Hakuba-san?" Ran questioned. "He's that classmate of yours who solved that murder at the Budokan, correct?"

Aoko nodded, pushing away thoughts that didn't need to be given attention. "Yes, he's also always following my father along whenever there's a Kid heist. I'm willing to bet he'll be here for this Birth of Spring thing." Better to divert the topic. She didn't want to think about Kaito right now. Kaitou Kid was a safer topic.

"Hakuba?" Kazuha drawled. "Here? Oh, that's gonna make Heiji mad! He can't stand Hakuba. An' at this heist? There's gonna be blood."

"Why's that?" Aoko asked.

"Heiji's been sayin' how Kid invited him specifically. That a few months back, Kid promised Heiji a proper heist as a 'thank ya'. An' now yer tellin' me Hakuba, the one detective Heiji despises, will be at a heist meant fer Heiji?" Kazuha rubbed her temples at some sort of headache. "There'll be _hell_ ta pay. I better check yer medical kit before the heist in case Heiji comes back bleedin'."

Aoko gave a slight grin. "I'll give Hakuba-kun a call and be sure to tell him to behave."

Ran shook her head. "I'm not sure that will do any good."

"Hakuba-kun's seen me and my mop. I'm sure I can make him understand."

"Mop?" Kazuha asked.

Ran and Aoko chuckled, both starting to explain.

* * *

Elsewhere, on an elevator in the Umeda Sky Building, Hakuba let out a sneeze. Sniffling, he was grateful that he was alone in the elevator so that nobody could have seen him. Some of his cousins still made fun of the way he sneezed.

With a ding the door opened and the British detective stepped out to the large conference hall. This was where the jewels were going to be exhibited and Hakuba wanted to know the lay of the land, where the ducts were, pipes and electrical wires, windows and doors, everything.

"*^#%#&!"

So did Inspector Nakamori, apparently.

"Inspector," he greeted politely. "I see we both have the same idea."

The inspector whirled, glared at Hakuba, before letting out a puff of smoke from his pipe. "Hakuba-kun. I see you were invited as well."

He gave a small bow. "Yes. I see that we have both arrived at the same conclusion for where Kaitou Kid's latest heist is to take place?"

Nakamori grunted. "Got the date and I think I've got the time. I just don't know _which_ damned jewel in the collection is being targeted."

Hakuba nodded. It hadn't been until late the previous evening, when Hakuba had looked at his heirloom watch that he'd realized just what the 57.5 degrees were. "I also am uncertain which jewel is in his sights. How are things going for you?"

His only response was a string of curses that made Hakuba start blushing, even after his prolonged exposure to the foul-mouthed inspector. "Sir?"

"Our dear jewel collector decided it would be a good idea to hire _snipers_."

Hakuba couldn't help but pale. The idea of Kuroba shot through the heart was... ugly. Hakuba had read reports on rumors of Kid being gunned down and such, but Kuroba never appeared that severely injured and Kaitou Kid would always steal again, never showing any signs of having needed to recuperate. So the illusion of Kaitou Kid seeming immortal and unchanging continued. But that never meant the threat wasn't real. Hakuba wanted Kid in handcuffs, not a coffin. The thought of someone _willingly_ bringing snipers into play was just... horrid. What if something went wrong? What if...?

"I know," Nakamori growled. "He _says_ they'll just be for show. He _says_ that they won't have live ammo, just stuff to shake Kid up, maybe heard him, but I _can't_ seem to call them off and it's #*$+& pissing me off!"

Hakuba had to agree. Better to think of something else. "Sir? How are the men to be deployed?"

"Spread out. Far too spread out, since I don't have a =&$# idea which &*$ jewel he's going to (&^&!#+ steal."

Hakuba nodded, looking around the conference hall as well. "Might I suggest a few layouts?"

Nakamori gave a cold glare at him, which Hakuba believed was meant more for the whole concept of snipers than at him specifically. With a jerk of his head, the two headed over to a table that had been set up with plans of the building, specifically the floor they were on. Hakuba's eyes swept over them as he and Nakamori started to discuss ideal placements and plan for every possible contingency. Granted, some were impossible to plan for, such as the idea of Kaitou Kid flooding the floor in order to get the desired gem, but the two of them tried to think of any possible tricks the Moonlight Magician might try to commit his larceny.

During it, Hakuba kept picturing a prone, bleeding form on the floor. He did _not_ want to lose Kuroba... Strike that, he didn't want to lose the chance to catch Kuroba. Hakuba hadn't crossed the line to friendship. He wouldn't miss Kuroba any more than his other classmates. He _wouldn't_. Because Hakuba always kept things professional. They were rivals, both in and out of monocle. That was all they were. Nothing more. Nothing more.

The image flashed across his mind and Hakuba shook his head. No. Kuroba, Kid, would _not_ get shot. There wouldn't be any bloodshed, because Nakamori's men and Kaitou Kid himself ran a clean, non-violent show. Nothing else would get in the way, because those were the rules.

(Unknown to Nakamori and Hakuba, a small device in the cuff of Nakamori's pants relayed every word they said.)

"Oh, Hakuba-kun. We'll have another detective here tonight."

"Oh?"

"I found out when I got here to Osaka. A local kid named Hattori got an invite from Kid. He's another foot to stumble over."

"Hattori?" Hakuba asked. "Hattori... Heiji?"

Nakamori grunted, flipping one page of maps to another.

Hakuba winced. He and the hot-tempered fool just did _not_ get along well. That was going to make things... difficult.

...Somehow, Hakuba was getting an extremely bad feeling for this heist.

**

* * *

Author's Note**: In case the explanation of time went by a little fast for you. A clock is a circle, 360 degrees. From 12-1 or from 4-5 or any other hour of time on a clock is 360/12 which is 30 degrees. Since we were looking for another 27.5 degrees (57.5 - 30), we set up a proportion. 27.5/30 = x/60. Solve and the answer is 55. Now look at the clock, put one of the hands at the 11 (55/60 minutes) and the other one would have to be just before the 1, making the clock read 12:55. And the hands make a nice little V for "rebealed". And yes, we're that obsessed with math.

*ahem* This is a chapter that would not go the way it was meant to and kept veering off into different directions. Hattori and Conan's conversation was supposed to include a teasing bit about the marriage line, but the ended up in this huge argument, much to my shock. So the conversation about marriage had to somehow get squeezed into the girl's talk. I had some specific points that I forget now that I wanted to discuss with the girls, but they never got there.

Next time: The Heist. Need we say more?

Oh, and we're reposting Hidden Epidemic weekly over at our livejournal page: http:/ mirrorandimage . livejournal . com. If anyone's interested.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

Heiji admired the gardens surrounding the building as he entered the Umeda Sky Building at 11:45. The weather was still too cool to not have an overcoat at night, and he shrugged into his coat to ward off the chill. The Task Force was buzzing around everywhere, as were several members of the Osaka police force, many smiling and waving as they saw their teen star and boss's son. Heiji looked up to the building, towers of mirrored lights against a starless sky, and he frowned before glancing down at his supposed partner.

Conan was also staring up at the building, his face very far away, his eyes narrow and distant. Heiji wondered what he was thinking; they hadn't really talked since their argument, and Heiji was kicking himself for (once again) sticking his foot in his mouth.

"Hey," he started, but his best friend-turned-grade schooler cut him off.

"Here," he said simply, lifting his fist up. Heiji offered his own hand and Conan dropped a pin into it. A Detective Boys pin. "You won't be able to hear me," he said slowly, his eyes looking away in guilt. "But you can hear Ran, and if anything goes wrong, she'll coordinate with you."

It was his best attempt at a compromise. Heiji nodded and accepted the pin, putting it on the collar of his jacket. "Well, have fun with whateve' y're up ta," Heiji said, putting on a bravado, "I'll be busy catchin' a thief!"

Conan grinned. "Ah."

The pair entered the building and went their separate ways. The jewel was held on the twentieth floor, and Heiji quickly made his way up and, as soon as he entered, had his cheek pinched.

"Ow! What th' hell izzat for?" he demanded, rubbing the injured side of his face.

"You're not Kid," Nakamori muttered, chewing on his pipe so hard Heiji was impressed it hadn't snapped in two.

"He ain't gonna be here fer another hour," Heiji offered, "an' if he was in disguise, it'd be too good fer you ta just pinch an' know it was him."

"You shut up," Nakamori growled, stomping off to give more orders. Heiji glared after him before shoving his hands into his pockets, stalking off to look at the Birth of Spring. Finding it, he eyed it critically. It was mostly deep amber, honey-brown almost. The collector knew how to light it, however, because he could see the red light inside it, surrounded by blue and purple pinpricks of color that also shown. It was big, too, just big enough to wrap his fist around it, and Heiji wondered why Kid was always after such large jewels. Most of them were downright gaudy, but at least this one had an allure to it.

"It may be safer to admire from a distance," a sickeningly smooth voice offered from behind. "I laid my own fair number of traps on that stand."

Heiji put on his best disgusted face as he turned around to face his "favorite" foreigner.

"I heard that Kid invited ya," Heiji said, not without some venom.

The blond detective wannabe shrugged and offered an absurdly polite smile. "Far be it from me to refuse a personal invite," he said lightly. Heiji had the instinctive urge to hit him. Hard.

Instead, he put on that bravado again and shrugged his shoulders, putting on a cocky grin. "Yeah, well, I betcha woulda had a hard time figurin' out th' Birth o' Spring if it weren't fer me, so y're welcome."

"Indeed, thank you for informing us of your deduction."

Damn bastard!

A thought shot through Heiji, and his cocky grin turned evil. "I hear congrat'lations 're in order," he said in a deceptively light tone.

"Congratulations?" Hakuba asked, his eyebrow quirking.

"Yeah, 'Nee-chan was tellin' me 'bout how ya solved a murder at Budokan," Heiji drawled, wanting to enjoy this. He wasn't disappointed when he saw the British snoop stiffen - his stiff-upper-lip unable to react to the reference. No doubt he _still_ had no idea what or how that case had happened. And that Heiji was one of the privileged people in-the-know made it all the more funny.

"I take it this friend of yours was there?"

"Oh, yeah," Heiji said lightly, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet and bouncing on them slightly. "Said ya sudd'nly fell asleep 'n' then bam! Ya went an' solved th' case. Wha's th' matter? Couldn't solve it awake?"

Hakuba's eyebrow twitched, and his lips thinned. This, _this_ was too good, Heiji decided. He wondered if there was a way he could thank Kudo for this moment and not be obvious about it.

"I heard you solved a case similarly," Hakuba said in even tones, looking around to case the immediate area.

"Oh, yeah," Heiji said, rolling it off. "I heard 'bout this guy who did it all th' time; figured I'd try it once an' see what it was like."

Wait for it, wait for it...

Hakuba turned slowly, his face completely neutral.

Wait for it...

"Do you mean to say you know what happened?"

Bingo! It was taking everything in his power to prevent Heiji from laughing outright; it was just too funny! "Oh, yeah," he said in a miraculously smooth voice, trying to contain himself. "It was easy."

Hakuba was staring at him outright now, eyes narrow as he tried to assess the validity of Heiji's claim. The Detective of the West could only keep his too-amused grin on his face, gulping down his giggles. Heiji knew exactly what was going through the other detective's mind, and he tried to wait to see if English pride would win out over insatiable curiosity.

"So then, detective, what do you think happened?"

Heiji could contain himself no longer, and he burst out laughing, drawing looks from several police and Task Force officers, causing intense mortification in the blond Hakuba. Heiji could have cared less; he was laughing so hard his sides were hurting. It was only when the tanned teen finally got himself under control that he put a hand on Hakuba's shoulders, his face schooled to solemn. "Hakuba-kun," he said in deep, serious tones. "Ya ain't much of a detective if ya can' figure it out!" and he burst out laughing _again_.

Ah! The look on the detective's face would keep Heiji entertained for months to come! For the rest of the evening the Osakan couldn't look at the other teen detective without smirking or snorting, and it kept a confused grin on many an officer, distracting them from the tension of oh-my-god-Kaitou-Kid-is-coming.

At twelve-thirty, Heiji took a breath and put it all aside. With Hakuba out of his system, he took a tour of the room and the floor before taking up his post back by the Mojave agate. He didn't _see_ anything that Hakuba had done, but that didn't mean something wasn't there. He'd read about the time the foreign detective had chained a statue to the floor, just to prevent Kid from taking it; extreme to say the least, but clever just the same. Heiji himself was wondering if it hadn't already been replaced with a fake and it was just about waiting for the show. Any thief, and magician thieves in particular, required a _lot_ of set up in order to steal a jewel of any kind. There was an equal chance of Kid hiding in ductwork versus impersonating someone. Nakamori was still running around pinching cheeks and breathing fire, but Heiji swept his eyes over the personnel himself.

"It's twelve-forty-five," someone muttered. "Ten minutes."

Heiji saw Hakuba stiffen and pull out a watch old enough to look like an heirloom, though Heiji was no expert. The Detective of the West raised his eyes, tracing patterns in the ceiling. The thief showed a preference for height, and the Osakan wanted this heist _bad_. It was a thank-you gift specifically for him, and Heiji wasn't about to let anything spoil this mental duel of wit and deduction against cunning and luck. Wait, those patterns on the ceiling...

"Twelve-fifty and thirty-seven seconds," Hakuba intoned.

Heiji ignored it and pulled his eyes back down, looking for something to step on. Spying a bench, he thrust a hand under it and dragged it over to what he was seeing before hopping onto it.

"Keep your eyes sharp, men!" Nakamori growled. "We're sure to catch Kid this time!"

Heiji was almost too short even with the bench, but standing on his toes he was able to trace his fingers along the grain he had seen on the ceiling tiles. The pattern was perfectly regular, but it wasn't _quite_ repeating at the same rate as the other patterns in the tiles, and when Heiji ran his fingers along it, he realized why.

They were _wires_. And the tiles were _vibrating_.

"Twelve-fifty-three and forty-nine seconds," Hakuba muttered, though he was eyeing what Heiji was doing.

Heiji visually traced where the wires were going. They were spread out across the entire ceiling, disappearing up into the tiles or branching off to other areas, but the dark skinned detective couldn't see where they started or stopped, until he realized they were _supposed_ to go up behind the tiles.

"Hey!" he called out.

"Twelve-fifty-five," Hakuba said.

And then the lights went out.

Six point eight seconds later (according to Hakuba) the lights came back on, and the general pandemonium that erupted quickly dissipated. It hadn't been enough for every one to really get mixed up - and the Task Force members at least had been on enough heists to know to wait ten seconds before panicking. Everyone paused, looking around, trying to assess if anything had changed. "... Nothing happened?" someone muttered.

Heiji knew better; something had definitely happened. "The Kid jus' did that ta set up his next trick," he explained, hopping off the bench now and making a beeline to the agate. "Which'll be a bigger distraction so's he can get th'-"

Then the ceiling exploded, exactly like Heiji expected, the tiles cracking and crumbling - the tiles had been replaced with something of a thinner material, likely to break at a certain vibration frequency that the wires were emitting. From the ceiling came a curtain of pink; hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cherry blossom petals gently fell from the ceiling and showered everyone with petals and the scent of flowers. Several people started sneezing.

Heiji blew through all of it. It was a brilliant distraction; the eye couldn't help but follow the floating sakura petals, and Heiji had to fight to keep himself focused. Nakamori was already cursing a blue, black, and purple streak in between shouts of orders and reprimands, but when Heiji finally made it to the agate, he knew it was too late; it was already gone.

"He's got the stone!" he called out, spinning around and trying to see through the maze of pale pink.

"You're more perceptive than the rest, tantei-han," came that _damn_ infuriating voice, and Heiji spun around and saw him.

The pink curtain finally faded away, and there was Kaitou Kid, large as life, grinning at him like the Cheshire cat. The brim of his hat cast a surprisingly dark shadow over the thief's face, only the monocle could reflect the light, and the austere whiteness of his suit also served as distractions, preventing people from looking at the defining facial features of the Kid, assuming he wasn't wearing a mask of any kind.

"I'm glad you could make it to the party, tantei-han," the thief said casually, seemingly unaware of the fact that they were both surrounded by dozens of officers. "Oh, and I need to thank you for the teasing of Hakuba-san," he added, almost as an afterthought, leaning forward, and grinning even wider. "I was laughing so hard I almost got caught before the show started."

Heiji took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled, centering himself and locking his eyes on the Kid's torso and feet. Magic was slight of hand and distraction. If Heiji wanted to know what the Kid was going to do next, he'd have to look not at his hands or his words, but at his feet and his body, like one did in kendo.

"Already reading my movements, tantei-han? I'm honored," Kaitou Kid said, giving a sweeping bow, gloved hand on his oversized top hat. Heiji saw something that looked like honey amber in the other gloved hand that went for the breast pocket. The Detective of the West spread his feet apart, taking a kendo stance. So help him, he wasn't going to take his eyes off the thief.

"But even someone as good as you can get distracted."

"Kid!"

"It's Kid!"

"He's right in front of me, follow me!"

"No, no, stop chasing me!"

"Heeeeelp!"

Heiji ripped his eyes away to see at least a dozen Task Force officers and Osakan police had at some point during the downpour of cherry blossoms received the gift of white capes, and were all chasing each other in circles; not only that but,

"*$%^ you pieces of (*%$ stop !#%^ spinning *&^%$# like (*%$ around me!"

Heiji needed a full ten seconds to realize what had happened; in keeping with the theme of Birth of Spring, not only had Kid utilized cherry blossoms - a Japanese symbol of spring - he'd managed to make Nakamori a living maypole - and English symbol of spring or at least part of the celebration of May Day. The officers chasing each other's white capes also had ribbons on their capes, which had somehow attached to Nakamori, making him the pole that was slowly being tied up by his men. The image was comical, and exactly what Kid had said - a distraction.

Spinning back, he saw Kid still there, grinning at him placidly. "I thought it was rather clever, don't you?" he asked, brushing off stray petals off his white uniform. Everyone was rushing to the Nakamori-maypole to try and fix the mess, the Inspector swearing away, and Heiji realized just why Kid was still there. And he grinned.

"Almost all th' other players 're gone," he said with confidence. "Ya really did want this heist ta be jus' you an' me."

"One does one's best," Kid said brightly. "Shall the chase begin?"

And with that there was a puff of pink smoke and the magician disappeared.

Logic knew where he was going: up. But Kid was ornery enough to go down in order to go up, and Heiji forced himself to keep still and think. He looked around; trying to spy anyone making for the door. There were none, and so he looked up at the shattered ceiling, random petals still floating down here and there, but there were no wisps of white. Frowning, he spun to the windows, but there was no change there, either.

Taking a chance, he went out the exit, scanning the hallways. Hakuba was there, looking left and right.

"You let him get away," he accused the Osakan.

Heiji stilled and turned back to the other detective. "Ya're too smooth ta say that," he announced, reaching out to grab at the British snoop.

"Very good, tantei-han," the blond said, still in Hakuba's voice. "He's still in there," he added, gesturing to the mob that was being created. "We'll see if he can pass the test I set up for him, assuming he isn't feeling too crabby. Now then, shall we begin properly?"

Heiji grinned. "Ah," he agreed.

Kid disappeared in another puff of smoke, but Heiji was ready this time, and he was already on the move, having seen the directional shifts in the smoke and used it to calculate the direction Kid had gone and, having studied the building floor plans with Kudo, had a good idea where Kid was going. If he wanted a personal chase like this - which was clearly the case - then what better way to do it than by using one of the Sky Building's towers for distractions and the other one for the true chase? And, here on the twentieth floor, was the floor with the bridge between the two towers.

Heiji plowed through the door to the bridge and blew across it. Glancing down at the ground, he wondered how Kudo and Nee-chan were doing. "Is he enjoyin' th' show?" he asked, holding the collar with his pin closer to his mouth.

"He hasn't said much," Ran's voice came over the miniature speaker, "but when he does I can hear a very wide grin on his face."

Heiji panted out a laugh. "Tha's jus' like'm," he muttered, skidding to a halt to open the doors and spill into the other tower. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he scanned the area, wondering if he'd beaten Kid here or not. The doors clicking closed behind him startled him, and he turned around quicker than he'd like to admit. On the door, however, was a small sticky note pasted to it. Frowning, he looked at it more closely.

"Tantei-han," it read. "This first clue should be simple:

AEFHIKLMNTVWXYZ

BCDGJOPQRSU

Split the differencE."

Heiji rolled his eyes and glared at the note. Quickly, he added up the top and bottom rows of the letters and took their difference; fifteen minus eleven. Four. He looked at the capital E, wondering what it was for, but ran to the nearest elevator anyway. He had to go up four floors and look for the next clue.

* * *

Conan shivered. The wind up here was strong, and cut into him. There weren't many hiding places on the roof, the Sky Garden, but Conan had found one of the few that was unoccupied by a sniper. Hattori had said that the collector only had them for show, but Conan hid all the same, listening to the chatter Ran had filtered into his upgraded glasses. She had quickly turned into quite the whiz with her necklace, and had been more than happy to be in charge of the communications, having become so proficient.

Hattori was crossing the bridge between the buildings, from what his glasses said, and Conan settled down to wait.

He actually didn't have to wait long. There was a flash of white from one of the entrances and Kaitou Kid arrived on the roof. "He's here," he said softly. "Wish me luck; I'll talk to you later."

Ran answered just as quietly. "Okay, good luck."

Nodding, Shinichi fiddled with is glasses and turned off the receiver and lowered his badge. Stuffing his hands in his pockets to stave off the cold, he stood up and boldly walked up behind the white suit, his cape flapping almost violently in the wind. "You beat Hattori up here," he called out.

Kaito Kid smoothly turned around, his face hidden in shadows. "Ah, tantei-kun," he said in perfectly even tones, no surprise whatever in his voice. "What brings you out here to Osaka?"

Conan fell away and Shinichi snorted. "Like you didn't know I was here when I got off the train," he replied, edging towards what he wanted to say.

"Couldn't pass up the opportunity?"

"No," Shinichi said. "I'm not here for the heist. It's Hattori's, and I won't take that from him."

Kid cocked his head to the side, a visual marker of confusion that he allowed to show. "Then, pray tell, why are you here?"

"To talk to you."

"Ooh, now this _is_ unusual. You're not here to catch me?"

Shinichi looked down, the wind whipping through his hair and tugging at Kid's cape. "I... don't know what to do about that yet," he answered honestly. It hurt to say it out loud, but there was only one truth, after all. "That's... that's why I'm here." He looked up again, his blue eyes unusually bright. Taking a step forward, Shinichi continued. "I learned something about you recently. It wasn't on a heist, it wasn't on a chase, although I think it was when you were planning for a heist."

Kid stepped to the side, Shinichi doing the same. The two were circling each other like giant cats, vying for the best ground to strike.

"Since then, I've done a lot of thinking about it, and I can honestly say I don't know what to do. So I thought it was best to talk to you about it."

Kid's smile didn't falter, didn't change. Not even his eyes stopped being politely interested but, much like that night at the hospital, Shinichi knew he had gotten a reaction. It should have given him cause to smile, but he could only frown, side-stepping some more.

"I wondered why you didn't start stalking me again, after that case," Shinichi pressed. "I wondered why you suddenly decided to keep your distance. But now I think I know; I think something about that case scared you." The conversation they shared at his hospital room went unsaid, that private moment obvious to the both of them. "And it was because of that case that I was able to learn that thing about you."

"You're weaving a very interesting tale, tantei-kun," Kid said smoothly. The angle of light changed, and Shinichi finally saw parts of the thief's face; the reflective monocle, wisps of that wild hair the same color as his own, the smooth curve of his cheekbones, and at last the bright blue of his visible eye. "Your presentation is admirable, but then, that's to be expected of a detective like yourself."

"You're trying to distract me, but this needs to be said," Shinichi said, stepping forward instead of to the side. Kid did not respond to the motion, and the pint-sized detective took another step forward.

"You're running out of time, tantei-kun," the phantom thief said, making a grand motion of checking his watch. "Tantei-han will be here soon, if he's anything like you."

Shinichi grinned. "In some ways, he's better than me." Hattori had one beautiful quality about him that had been shredded out of Shinichi: honesty. He was so honest he needed to be kicked to remember not to call him "Kudo" in public. He didn't have to worry about lies piling on top of him, of keeping a scorecard on who knew what and how much. Hattori was... good... in a way Shinichi never could be again. The boy shook his head and focused, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"I have a trick for you," Shinichi said. "In one hand," he raised it, holding up the tiny piece of evidence. The lighting was horribly poor, but he knew Kid would know exactly what it was. "In one hand is a smoke capsule that is yours. I'm certain it can be checked against any of the others Inspector Nakamori has collected since your _rebirth_," he said, choosing his words very carefully.

"In the other hand," Shinichi continued, holding up his second piece of evidence and, for the first time, he saw the poker face crack, that one blue eye widening just enough to be noticed.

"In the other hand is another smoke capsule, again easy to be compared. These two pieces on their own mean nothing; even together, there isn't much to be said about them, until you realize _where_ they came from. The first," he said, lowering a hand, "was obtained during that case. I'm sure you know from when.

"The second," he held up his other hand, "was taken from a very different location, from when you had a little accident when you were preparing for a heist. Do I need to explain where you-"

"Shinichi!"

The boy stiffened; surprised that Ran's voice came over his pin. He'd turned it off...

"Shinichi, I know I shouldn't be interrupting, but I've been listening to the radio bands, and one of the snipers is taking aim!"

No time to think. Just react. "Kid!" he shouted, running towards him. "The snipers-!"

Kid didn't need any further information. He plunged down and Shinichi was suddenly stepping over air as the thief hoisted him up and then gracefully leapt up onto one of the safety rails. "Going down, tan-"

Something stopped the Kid from finishing his sentence, and instead of a leap like Shinichi was expecting, he watched as Kid's feet slid off the rails, and everything was up and over and around; sky and ground and mirrors and the frightening vision of Hattori on an escalator staring up in horror, all spinning around in Shinichi's eyes; wind and screams from his own throat deafening his ears. There was no up or down, everything was everywhere, and then somewhere else and then somewhere _else_. It wasn't until something crashed into his arm and his head slammed into something hard, his glasses quite nearly skittering off his face that he finally felt that something _stopped_.

It took him a minute to realize he needed to stop screaming. Then it took him even longer to get air in his lungs. This was nothing compared to figuring out _what the hell_ just happened. Breath shaky at best, Shinichi pulled an arm out from under something warm to adjust his glasses. He could hear Ran in his ear, calling his name out in a panic.

"Ran," he whispered, then coughed and tried again. "Ran, can you hear me?"

"Shi-chi! I c-n bare- -ear yo-! Wh- -pened, there w- - -cream and then..."

He grunted, trying to fiddle with his glasses but unable to get a better reception. He'd probably broken something when he landed and...

Shit! Shinichi sat up with a start, grunting and holding his arm before looking around. Where...

Holy shit!

The Umeda Sky Building was known for many things: the Sky Garden on the roof, the circular atrium of the top two floors, the bridge halfway up the building, the gardens below, the shops underground, etc. It was also known for its escalators connecting the two towers. Shinichi had landed on the small roof of the room that the escalators lowered to. Spinning to his right, he saw the structured V rising up four floors to the giant circle above him. He must have fallen at least four stories, and Kid-

Kid!

Spinning back again he realized what he was half trapped under: the white suit and cape of Kaitou Kid. And the thief wasn't moving.

"Shit," he cursed, pulling his legs out from under the body. "Kid? Kid!" He crawled forward, half climbing over a shoulder, leaning in to his ear. "Kuroba," he whispered harshly. "Open your eyes, damn it."

"Shut up," came and equally harsh response. Shinichi blinked, surprised by the hoarseness in the other teen's voice, or at least he was until he realized his hand had been so warm... and sticky. He saw the red color when a floodlight blew over them, the people above trying to find them. They were behind the bend of the building, but Shinichi tugged at Kid's cape, pulling it closer to him and away from the floodlights.

Tugging and pulling and cursing his lack of height, he finally got his arms under Kid's shoulder and lifted. The thief grunted, his eyes opening and spinning around, trying to orient himself. Shinichi, meanwhile, was too busy staring at the shadows of his uniform before mentally cursing his stupidity and fumbling for his watch flashlight. That proved to be much more helpful.

He was expecting more blood, to be honest. He'd come across so many bodies that had bled out, dark red staining everything and pooling everywhere that he forgot that sometimes it took a while to bleed. He took a deep, shuddering breath as a strong wind whipped through them again - made stronger by the wind tunnel-like area they were sheltered in. Shinichi tried to poke at the jacket and probe the wound, but Kid only growled and inelegantly shoved the tiny hands away.

"Hands off the goods," he said slowly, his words clearing as he went. "Wouldn't want to be assaulted by a minor, would I?"

Shinichi didn't glare or roll his eyes, he sighed in relief. "Kid, do you know what happened?"

"Snipers," he said slowly, eyes still darting everywhere. "I slipped on the guard rail... I never slip... then I was just trying to _stop_." The teen thief moved to get up and gasped when his torso bent, falling back. "... and I _must_ have broken a rib."

"No, Kid, you were shot."

Kuroba's - not Kid's - Kuroba's eyes widened and he craned his head up to look, and Shinichi watched in growing trepidation as that face, so like his own, paled and his breathing quickened. "Blood," he whispered. "There's blood... blood... shit, don't panic... don't panic... blood..."

The pint-sized detective couldn't believe that he was watching the mighty Phantom Thief 1412 entering a panic attack. It was cause for panic just on _principal_, and Shinichi had to override it before it was too late. Shaking his head in disbelief, he leaned forward, filling Kid's field of vision and feeling more than a twinge of guilt as he deliberately pressed against the wound. That got the Phantom Thief's attention, and the wide blue eyes - Shinichi could finally see both - locked onto the child.

"We need to get out of here," he said in low tones.

Kuroba blinked rapidly, processing, before Kid bloomed on his face and he nodded. "Need a lift?" he asked, his voice steady, even cocky.

Shinichi snorted, but crawled off the other teen. Kid took a deep, preparatory breath, and grimaced as he rolled onto his knees. Shinichi saw the blood spurt out of the wound, and he stomped very hard on his own panic as he hoped that he wasn't making a mistake. Kid swayed on his feet, a hand going up to steady himself against a wall. A twitch of the wrist and Shinichi watched as the hang glider came to life, the cape lifting and spreading, rigging snapping into place and taking form.

"Get on my back, tantei-kun," Kid grunted, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck. "This is going to be a rough ride."

Nodding, the Detective of the East hopped up, feeling the pulled muscles in his arm and saying nothing, and settled himself on Kid's good shoulder. Kid took a moment to steady himself further with the new weight, and turned vaguely to the east. "Please make sure all safety belts are secured on Kaitou Airlines," Kid intoned, humor lacking in his voice. "Keep hands and feet in bounds at all times, and remember, no screams; wouldn't want to tip off-"

The floodlights swung back and finally stayed, having locked onto the white triangle of his hang glider.

"-the cops," he finished. "Lady Luck must have something against me tonight," he added, more to himself.

It was then, with no warning whatsoever, that Kid leapt off the building, Shinichi struggling to hold on.**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Hmm, what to say about this chapter... Can we say "Turning Point?" Much the way chapter of Ran finding everything out in the Hidden Epidemic fic was, and the chapter where Conan learned of Kaitou Kid's identity was in the Magic Bullet fic, this was the premise of this fic: what would Conan do on a heist now that he _knows_, and what _will_ he do now that things have gone to pot?

I've lost track of the number of ideas that were bouncing back and forth when we were trying to figure out the logistics of this. At first all we knew was that it was a Heist and that Things Went Wrong. It wasn't until we were writing the finale of the Hidden Epidemic that we realized it had to be on Osaka for this to work, and it gave us the wonderful idea of involving Hattori. It's very tempting for authors (us included, let us reassure you) to turn these kinds of stories into the "Kaito and Shinichi Show," and we didn't feel that did any kind of justice to Hattori and what he is and represents in the Conan universe.

It must have taken an hour of poking around wikipedia and tourist sites in both English and Japanese before we settled on Umeda Sky Building - the _look_ of the building was too good to pass up for a Kid heist, and things just kind of grew from there. We sincerely hope we're even half right on the set up of the building; wikipedia wasn't exactly detailed (it's not a site meant for the kind of detailed searches we tend to do) and google just refused to give us the building-specific information we wanted - like what floor the bridge between buildings was on, or how many floors the escalator rose (or at least, if it did give us the information it sure wasn't in English), and so if there are inaccuracies, we deeply apologize. We really do try; Virgos like us are rather detail oriented.

Once we figured out it would happen in spring, that led to Golden Week, which led to Mayday, which led to looking up what kind of English stones would perk a magical thief's interest, which grew into the Birth of Spring. Wikipedia is great for these kind of small-scale searches.

The heist itself fell together surprisingly neatly; there was the Hattori half and the Conan half. On the Hattori half, please understand we are not yet far enough in the manga to understand why so many fics have animosity between Hattori and Hakuba, and so we just assumed it was the clash between Osakan rashness and recklessness versus British reserve and decorum. We were giggling like fangirls when we wrote all that teasing; we hope it's half as funny as we think it is. And Conan, of course, practically wrote himself as he always does. We hope you enjoyed.

Next chapter, er, well, everyone tries to figure out What on Earth Happened to Kaitou Kid.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven**

Heiji was struggling to control his laughter as he rounded the corner and ran full tilt for the escalators that would take him up to the roof. The reason for his humming hilarity was that he had just run into (okay, okay, _tripped_ over) Mouri Kogoro. It seemed that the Sleeping Detective had worked out that Kaitou Kid would use the opposite half of the building and would use stairs instead of elevators. A reasonable deduction, given some of the out-there ones that the man could come up with. Unfortunately, that didn't prepare him for what Kid could _do_. So Heiji had stumbled and fallen flat on his face, ready to spit out hellfire and damnation until he'd turned and seen Mouri Kogoro, tied up soundly... with his pants. Oh, the image almost had him laughing outright then and there, save for the fact that he would still need to be with the man for the remainder of Golden Week. Some level of compromise would be necessary to survive.

But that was behind him as he raced on, the Sleeping Detective shouting after him to make sure that Kaitou Kid _paid_ for bruising his pride and ego. Heiji skidded to a halt in front of the escalators and took a breath. The escalators would take him to the fortieth floor where the observation deck was, and then another set of stairs would take him up to the roof's Sky Garden. No doubt Kid would be waiting there, so he pushed onward, looking up to his final destination and show down.

All that changed.

Up on the guardrail of the Sky Garden, Kaitou Kid was standing, wind whipping his cape around him. In his arms was Kudo. And then the two were falling, tumbling, rolling, sliding down the roof of the see-through escalator that Heiji was taking.

"NO! Kudooooo!"

Heiji watched as they rolled over him, back down, and there was no denying the red he could sporadically see as they tumbled by him. One of them was bleeding. How? They were fine in the phosphorescent lights of the Sky Garden...

_Snipers_...

Heiji moved. Not to where Kudo and Kid had fallen, but up. He surged up the escalator, raced through the observation deck, and exploded onto the Sky Garden. He didn't have his bokken, much less his sword, but Heiji didn't care. His sharp eyes analyzed everything until Heiji knew were all the snipers were, partially from what he'd been briefed on to even be part of this shindig, and all of them were in place, looking around to each other confused. That didn't matter to the Detective of the West, however. One by one he pounced on them, using all his skills as a practitioner of a martial art to take them down. It could be sorted out later _who_ had fired the shot, but _none_ of them were going to get away. Because if it was _Them_ and the target was Kudo and not Kid, there was no way in _hell_ that he was going to let _any_ of them get away.

Heiji was a whirlwind of destruction as he took down the six potential enemies. _No one_ shot at Kudo and got away with it. He'd already had to deal with one frightening phone call where Ran had told him that Edogawa Conan had been shot and was in the ICU of Beika General after she'd given him her own blood because he'd lost so much... He would _not_ live through that again. There weren't many people that Heiji could really call close, mainly because there were so few who could keep up with him. And he would rather go down fighting to ensure that those he cared about were still around than sit back and do nothing. Take the initiative; be proactive. Worry about the details later. Once they were down, he cuffed each of them, having been prepared for Kaitou Kid and his propensity for escaping from _everything_. Each set of cuffs were then welded shut with a pocket welder. A cutter would be needed and he could do that _later_.

Heiji took a breath. In his two minutes of pure violence, he noticed that one of them had been using a spotlight the police had set up to try and find Kid and Kudo. Heiji ran to it, ignoring how his lungs burned with all the exertion, how his hip ached and was starting to give under all the strain he was putting on it, proving that it still wasn't up to proper strength, ignored the pounding in his chest and ears and temple as he grappled with the spotlight.

_Please be alive!_

No sooner had he finally found the figure in white, standing tall just above where the escalators had started, where he had been moments before (_that seemed like a lifetime ago..._) that the figure _jumped_ into the night. "Hey!" Heiji shouted, worry and fear swirling around him. He moved the spotlight, trying to see if the seven-year-old-form of his best friend was anywhere.

"Heeeeeyyyy!" he shouted, racing to the edge of the guardrail, leaning over it. He had to know. Was Kudo okay? Was he with Kaitou Kid, or did he...? "Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy!" He wanted to shout out his question, _Is Kudo okay?_ but couldn't. The panic and shock and realization that it might be _Them_ had kept his mouth shut on anything that might reveal the big secret that _must_ remain hidden no matter what.

But the white triangle in the distance floated away without care in the world.

"Of all th' _fuckin', stupid, 'diotic_, AHOUUUUUU!"

Now what; now what; now what; now what...?

_Of course!_ Fumbling with the pin on his collar, he shouted into it, "Nee-chan? What th' _hell_ is goin' on? Is... Is he...?"

"Hattori-kun!" her voice was just as panicked as his was. "His transponder and receiver are broken, we keep breaking up... I don't know how he is..."

"But he's _alive_?" Not fallen over forty floors to his death? Not shot and bleeding in some dark corner hiding from _Them_?

"Yes... He's with Kid-"

_Thank God_.

"And Hakuba-san is almost there."

_Shit!_ Heiji didn't have time for that damn British excuse of a detective. He needed to get down to Ran and start conferring, somewhere where snoopish gaijin wouldn't overhear just _who_ they were going to start looking for. He needed to get moving... Head down the elevator? Run down the stairs? Running would make him feel more useful than standing in an elevator, but would tire him and _who knew_ what state Kudo was in... But Kudo was with Kid. And if that damn psychotic psychologist case was any clue, Heiji could trust the magician-thief to keep his best friend safe.

And if Heiji ran now, who knows what sort of suspicions would arise? After all, he'd just flattened six grown men for no good reason that anyone other than he, Kudo, and Kid knew. At worst, there _might_ be blood in that niche they'd landed in above the escalator start, but blood didn't flow _that_ quickly from a bullet wound, the diameter was too small. Blood loss from a bullet wound was more likely if the bullet wound nicked an artery and the blood couldn't get to where it needed to be, flooding other areas of the body. As such, there was no proof anywhere in immediate sight that would prove that there had been a shooting. And he wouldn't be allowed to leave after thumping the snipers unless he could prove that there had been a shot. And that was going to take _time._

Heiji started swearing in earnest again, understanding why Nakamori was so inclined to it.

"Hattori-san," a voice called over the strong winds.

The Western Detective glanced to see Hakuba slowly ascend, each step careful and looking somewhat painful. He could care less. Instead, he focused on the white triangle that was lowering further and further. He needed to know where they were going to land. That way, he'd know where to start looking. It looked like they had crossed the river... Where would be ideal for a thief to land with an injured Kudo? Somewhere dark... An alley? To much danger of infection... Of course. Osaka Castle and its wide park. Plenty of trees and niches to hide in, no visitors at this time in the middle of the night, quiet to hear whoever was approaching... It was a start.

"Osaka Castle," Heiji said into the pin, before finally turning to the British detective who was crossing over to them.

"Got it," Ran replied.

Off in the distance was a faint rumble of thunder.

Hakuba limped over and Heiji blinked, looking the British detective over. _Wha..?_

And, despite all the worry/fear/concern/distress/panic that was swirling around Heiji, despite all that, he broke out into a grin. "Feelin' a li'l' 'crabby', Hakuba?" he asked. Because Kaitou Kid's sense of humor on the British detective seemed to know no bounds. There was no doubt in Heiji's mind _what_ had been the test for the foreign detective. Kid had handcuffed Hakuba's hands to Hakuba's ankles, and likely no keys Hakuba had (or could even reach for that matter) would work. Leaving the blond detective to stumble along crouched like a crab, one hand/foot combo at a time. Hakuba had since found some sort of tools to break the handcuffs, but in his hurry to find them, he'd rubbed his wrists raw and his socks were clearly showing wear.

"Hattori-san, what did you _do_ to the snipers?"

* * *

Shinichi knew how to fly. Not only had he logged countless hours in various realistic flight simulators, his father had also taken him out in the small plane they had in Hawaii, and once, a friend and fellow writer had let the elder Kudo take his son out in a helicopter as well. Shinichi had no problem with heights and actually enjoyed seeing the wide expanse of the world from up in the clouds. But at the moment? He was _petrified_ of how high he was. Because the only think keeping him airborne was a shot Phantom Thief who was painfully trying to maneuver a hand glider. At night.

"Kid!" he shouted over the wind. "Talk to me!"

The thief didn't respond, however. Each twitch of his hand shifted the glider and even shot, Shinichi could see that Kid was manipulating the glider like a master through the strong winds. They were descending, and quickly, though Shinichi had no idea where they were. He cursed his unfamiliarity of Osaka, despite many visits. The city lights below could tell him where streets were and buildings were; he was fairly certain they'd crossed a river, but he couldn't find any defining features of _where_ they were. The tumble down the roof of the escalator had badly disoriented him and he still wasn't entirely sure which direction they were going, making his mental map of Osaka's major landmarks useless, since he wasn't even sure what to be looking for.

A strong gust of wind blew up from under them, sending Shinichi and Kid spiraling. The truncated sleuth did everything he could to hold on. Without any safety device binding him to Kid, all he had were his tiny hands to keep him from falling who knew how many feet to an untimely death. And all this spinning was _not_ helping his disorientation. It was probably a good thing that he'd shoved his heavier (and now _malfunctioning_) glasses into his pocket. He wasn't sure they'd be able to stay on his face at this rate.

_Wait a second_... Kid seemed to be straightening out, and Shinichi thought he saw something recognizable before Kid had turned to aim for it, blocking Shinichi's view by the white fabric of the cape that reached up to spread out over the glider frame. Balance was key for gliding like this, but Shinichi had no choice.

"Kid!" he shouted. "I'm going to lean out to see where we're going!"

Whether or not Kid heard him was questionable, as the magician seemed to be concentrating entirely on flying. With a sigh lost in the wind, Shinichi cautiously sat up, reaching out for the frame of the glider. With slow and deliberate care, he leaned out to the right, trying to only go far enough to _see_ where they were going. With the shifting of weight, they started to bank, but Shinichi had seen what he needed and was hunkering back down as Kid adjusted for the changes.

_Osaka Castle_... That meant they were heading southeast. It gave Shinichi the basics of where they could end up and he could contact Ran once he was out of the wind. Assuming that they didn't fly too far out of range and that his damn glasses would start sending and receiving properly... But he could worry about that once he had both feet flat on the ground. _Preferably soon_.

Though, given their rate of descent, that seemed highly likely... Though with or without a crash would be questionable.

Shinichi felt a ragged cough under him and then heard Kid curse as the wind started to send them out over the water again.

_He's blacking out!_

Without thinking, Shinichi reached up to the framing of the glider again and started leaning his weight, calculating and adjusting to try and aim for the Castle grounds. They were sinking faster and faster over what looked like a baseball field and Shinichi called up a mental map of the park. If he could just aim a smidgen more south they'd be in the trees where there was more cover. Leaning right, then quickly left to recenter them, Shinichi finally leaned forward, aiming for a descent that would take them hopefully below the branches of the trees but above the bushes and shrubbery below. Beneath him, Kid seemed to understand what was going on and lowered his legs, skidding down a path before veering into the undergrowth.

...

It was hardly a graceful landing, but Shinichi hadn't been thrown too far and they were hidden under the leaves, bushes and trees. The shrubs seemed to be taller than Shinichi was at the moment, but he didn't risk anything as he crawled over to Kuroba, who was lying on his side, a hand pressing at the wound and breathing heavily.

Leaning down, Shinichi looked over the teenage magican, trying to assess the damage. The good news was that he could see an entry _and_ exit wound. No need for an operation, so that meant no hospitals. Now how to get Kuroba out of here and hidden.

"-nich-!" a muffled sound came from his pocket.

His hand dived in, pulling out his glasses as he put them back on again. "Ran!" he hissed. "Can you hear me?"

"Bar-ly! Wh-r- -re yo-?" There was no denying the sheer _worry_ in her voice, garbled as it was.

"Osaka Castle," he replied carefully and slowly, hoping to get through the damage that the horrible tumble had done to his frames. "The Forest Park in the Castle, I think."

"Fo-st P-rk. A-e -ou oka-?"

"_I_ am," he replied. "Kur..." He sighed. He'd wanted to talk to Kuroba, but it seemed the decision was made for him. Shinichi's instinct was to hide and protect the Phantom Thief, not turn him in. "Kid was shot. I see an entry and exit. I'll bandage what I can, but we need somewhere safe."

"-'m on i-. Be ca-ful, Sh-i-i."

"I'll contact you in ten minutes."

Shinichi sat back, taking a moment to breath. His hands were _killing_ him after the death grip he'd had on Kuroba's suit, to say nothing of the pulled muscles in his arms and the various bumps and bruises that had occurred in their rough landing. Deep breathe. Review what he knew about emergency treatments.

"Kuroba?" he whispered over the heavy breathing. "Are you still with me?"

A small nod. Good. Kuroba was still conscious and aware. That would make life a hell of a lot easier.

"I need to bandage you somehow. Is there anything I need to know about your suit? Is it booby trapped?" Because Shinichi wouldn't put that beyond him. The teenage magician was still thought of as the original Kaitou Kid, and there was a good reason for that. Beyond imitation, nobody could ever get close to Kid without there being some sort of distraction almost immediately on hand. There had to be all _sorts_ of hidden pockets and places to hide things. And some of the gizmos that the thief used could be dangerous since they _were_ explosive.

"Kid," was a quiet weakened reply. "I _am_ Kaitou Kid."

Well, Shinichi supposed he could grant that. After all, while he was stuck in his current dilemma, he was Edogawa Conan. It was only fair.

"Kid, can I pull off your jacket without ten colors of smoke engulfing me?"

"Ha!" Kid let out a chuckle. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts too much." A deep breath. "Give me a minute."

* * *

Ran was biting her lip as she shifted through all the feeds coming into her laptop. She had just spoken with Shinichi, _finally_. After those chaotic moments when she'd heard shots and watched on the security camera feed as both thief and detective had tumbled down the _ceiling of the escalator_ before the Moonlight Magician had _jumped_, with Shinichi on his back, riding the strengthening winds away from the heist gone haywire.

_He's fine; he said he was fine. The bullet didn't hit him; it hit Kaitou Kid..._ She kept repeating the mantra, hoping that she could believe it. She probably wouldn't at this rate until she held little Conan in her arms and didn't let go. They'd both talked about the possibility of situations like this occurring on cases, of something going wrong and what to do and how to handle it. But somehow, that didn't quite prepare you for when something like this really _did_ happen.

_Shinichi_...

The window she was focusing on had Hattori and Hakuba on the roof and Ran suddenly realized that Hattori didn't know that Shinichi was fine. Blinking, she looked at the detective badge in her hand that she had been using to stay in contact with the Osakan detective. It wouldn't do if Hakuba knew about the badges, that didn't feel right, so how to let him know?

_Ran, you dummy_, she reprimanded herself before pulling out her cell phone. She composed a simple text, "_Forest Park, Osaka Castle, Fine_" and sent it. In the security feed she watched Hattori stiffen, reaching into his pocket for his phone, and then relax.

That taken care of, she looked through other windows of security, trying to assess what was going on. Hakuba had used a radio to call down to the chaos that was Inspector Nakamori and the Task Force and they were detangling themselves to try and hurry up and see what was going on. Her own father was struggling to untie his own pants, and the police stationed outside the building were milling around for orders, having seen Kaitou Kid glide off into the distance.

What could she do; what could she do? She was just communications, she didn't have any real power. She was in the parking lot in the car her father had driven them in. _We need somewhere safe_. Shinichi had said that. That meant that Shinichi was going to try and help Kaitou Kid without any official involvement. But how could she arrange that? Where would be a safe place to treat a gunshot wound that wouldn't ask questions? Somewhere that Kazuha wouldn't notice if they disappeared to...

Well questions would be asked. There was no denying that. But this was Kaitou Kid. Maybe if they switched, then at least the types of questions would be different... Shinichi wasn't going to like it, but Ran wasn't sure what else to do.

She went online and started researching gunshot wounds and how to treat them. If this worked out the way she wanted to, she was going to need the knowledge.

"Ra-, ar- y-u th-re?"

"Shinichi!" She breathed out another sigh of relief. Another deep breath and she spoke slowly and calmly, trying to get through the static that was interfering. "I'm here and I have an idea."

"Go-d. Kid'- stil- awa-, but -e _nee-s_ m-re th-n wha- I c-n do her-."

"Can he do a disguise?"

She heard him repeat the question. "Ye-."

"I have an idea. We're going to do it like this."

_Please, let this work._

Shinichi didn't like the idea in the slightest. She could hear it in his flat voice and incredulous tone, but he didn't offer any rebuttals or alternatives. They didn't have time for debate and he knew it. It took time to work out the details, especially given the garbled messages they were giving back and forth. But it was workable. Any contingencies they needed to plan for would have to be done later, once Kaitou Kid was safe.

"Ra-, I..."

She shook her head, a small smile coming to her face. "Not now, Shinichi. I'll be waiting for you."

"- l-v- y-."

"Me too."

Leave it to Shinichi. He knew he owed her an explanation of things, and now with everything muddled and confused, he was still trying to give her what she wanted to know. He was _really_ trying to make this work, despite his condition, and she couldn't help but love him even more than she ever had before. Their situation was hard, complicated, and more harrowing than any couple had a right to experience. His new size would be enough to trip them up but the added fear and worry about a Black Organization just made things even more... sharp. There might never be an opportunity to redo something. And she was only just starting to see how much that could weigh on things. Shinichi had told her. But with this, it was far more real.

She saw one of the snipers take aim. She knew that Hattori had taken him down when he'd gone samurai on everyone in the Sky Garden. But she didn't know if it was because of orders from the jewel owner, or if it was someone after Kaitou Kid, or if it was _Them_. And that was truly a scary thought. She hadn't _really_ realized just how big a shadow that They were. She was somewhat aware of it, the way Conan would sometimes stiffen and pointedly keep an eye on certain people who wore nothing but black. But _this_...

It was an eye opener.

_And Shinichi has been under this weight for _how long_ all by himself?_ Only he wasn't by himself. He'd had Haibara, who understood. But the not-girl was very closed off. Even now, Ran wanted _desperately_ to talk about all this to Shinichi. But she couldn't. Not right now. Her feelings, his feelings, they were all going to be put on hold until they could give Kaitou Kid the medical help he needed.

Deep breathe.

Ran stepped out of her father's car. She sent a text to her father that she was heading back and sent another text to Hattori. "_Pick up as soon as you can._" Now she had to get a cab and make a call and do some very, very fast talking.

* * *

Hakuba looked around, keen eyes not liking what he was seeing. The brash Osakan was currently sitting on a bench, favoring a leg and _glaring_ at the snipers that had been handcuffed together in a heap in front of him. From the various bumps and bruises they were all sprouting, Hakuba knew _who_ exactly had cuffed them all together, and it certainly wasn't Kaitou Kid. This had been a violent exercise and Kid was non-violent to the point of practically putting himself in danger to help someone else. However, Hattori _did_ seem the type to be able to do this, especially given his training in kendo and the reputation he had when he _did_ carry a sword or bokken. Hakuba had heard, once, that a murderer had seen Hattori arrive for the case and had his bokken in hand and said murderer had given up right away. No one confronted the young kendo star when he was so armed unless they were stupid or ready to take the beating they were setting themselves up for.

But despite his hotheaded temperament, Hakuba _did_ know that Hattori preferred using his brain. The Detective of the West would only fight if provoked, and one needed to do some _serious_ provoking to do so. Hattori was more likely to yell and get in your face than throw a punch.

So something drastic had happened to get the dark-skinned teenager to take down all six snipers and in fast order, it seemed. And that drastic thing, as Hattori had clearly stated, was one of the snipers shooting at Kaitou Kid.

Hakuba had already called it down to Nakamori thanks to the radio he'd been provided. His response had been a long line of swears, curses, and cusses that almost made Hakuba blush. _Really, does that man not know polite language at all?_

Sighing, he stepped forward and examined the snipers once more, noting that the handcuffs were welded shut. So the Osakan had been ready for Kaitou Kid and his skill with locks. Prudent. If at the moment bothersome. They were going to have to get cutters to remove the cuffs.

There was a grunt and Hakuba looked up to see Hattori ease up before coming forward to examine the snipers as well. "You say one of these men shot at Kid?"

"I don' say, I tell," Hattori growled, grabbing each man's hands and lifting them up for inspection. "If y're worth anythin' as a detective, see if you can tell _who_ decided it wuz a bright idea ta shoot with a child 'n the scene."

"A _child_?" Hakuba's eyes widened. What on _earth_ was a _child_ doing on the Sky Garden during a heist?

"Yep. Ya've met him. Conan-kun."

Oh, of course. Hakuba scowled. Really, Mouri let that child have too much freedom. As much as the child had potential as a detective in the future, with proper guidance, giving a child free reign at a crime scene such as this was just plain foolhardy.

"Don' you go turnin' up yer nose at him just 'cause he's a kid."

Another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

"I believe we have about an hour before that storm comes in," Hakuba stated. As much as he didn't like the western detective, he wasn't one to go picking a fight unless the Osakan was being particularly obtuse.

"Well ain't that jus' peachy," Hattori grimaced under the wind. "We'll have ta get these bozos downstairs before th' wind gets much worse."

Hakuba gave his peer a flat stare. "Perhaps if they were conscious?"

Hattori offered him a finger.

Strange. Despite how the two of them stepped on each other's toes and bristled in each other's company (not that Hakuba would _ever_ admit that. British pride and all that...) Hakuba had always known Hattori to be more-or-less level headed during an investigation. Impulsive, certainly. Reckless, by far. Brash even. But there was always calm logic behind whatever he did. And Hakuba knew that Hattori had seen and been swept in many a violent crime, including a propensity to have bodies literally drop from the sky in front of him. So why was he being so emotional about the possibility of Kid being shot? And there was no mistake that Hattori _was_ acting emotionally.

Hakuba didn't comment, however, and started inspecting hands as well, looking for traces of gunpowder along the gloves.

Another rumble of thunder and Hakuba could hear something over the increasing wind around them. Specifically the loud curses and epitaphs of Inspector Nakamori as he and Task Force members burst onto the roof.

"Which one?" he demanded. "Which one of these sons of bitches decided it was a fucking brilliant idea to take aim with their shit guns and _shoot_?"

"'m _tryin'_ ta find out!" Hattori yelled back over the wind.

"Inspector, might I recommend we get them down to the observation deck?" Hakuba loudly said over the wind. "It will be easier to examine and investigate that way."

Nakamori made a motion and men swarmed around the unconscious snipers, dragging the heap of them down the stairs, though not exactly gently...

Down in the observation deck, out of the wind, communication came more easily as lights were turned on and crime scene investigators of the Task Force started collecting samples. Hattori was still looking at the gloves and hands of the snipers with intense concentration.

"Ah!" Hattori exclaimed. He pulled out a bottle of water and splashed it onto the face of the sniper whose hands he'd been examining.

The man sputtered and coughed, blinking and looking around.

"What th' _hell_ d' ya think you were doin', ya jackass?" Hattori growled, getting into the sniper's face.

Nakamori focused in on the shooter and came up behind, looming over Hattori with his pipe clenched in his teeth. Hakuba felt it better to stay in the background and listen and take notes. He'd share his deductions when he was ready, not before.

"What?" the sniper growled. "I was ordered to shoot and I did so."

The pipe snapped. "You _dumbass_, there was a _child_ up there! And Kaitou Kid is non-violent! You guys were supposed to be there for show! You #*+%!"

"Hey, I had a clean shot for his shoulder before he decided to jump up onto the rail. I don't even know if I hit him."

Hattori reached forward, grabbed the sniper by his shirt and yanked him forward. "It don' matter if ya _did_ shoot him," he growled. "I saw him _and_ th' kid _rollin' down th' roof o' th' escalator_." The sniper's face paled. "Ya'd _better_ hope th' kid's not hurt."

"I swear! I got the order to shoot! Orders weren't to fire unless ordered and I got the order!"

Other snipers were starting to wake up. "Inspector," Hakuba interjected, getting two fuming glares sent his way. "I would recommend continuing this at the station. Separating the snipers and interrogating them one at a time so that they can't straighten out stories." Thunder rumbled, much closer this time.

Nakamori clapped his hands together, rubbing them with a gleeful look in his eyes. "Hattori-kun? Can you call ahead and see if you can get some of your Osakan friends to give us some room?"

There was a gleam in Hattori's eye that Hakuba didn't like. "Sure thing, but after that, 'm headin' out. Kid'll probably drop th' kid off 't home 'r a hospital. I wanna check out 'n' make sure he's okay."

Nakamori nodded, putting a hand on the Osakan's shoulder. "I understand, son. And could you take that idiot Mouri with you?"

Hattori grinned, though there was little humor in it. "'f I can find 'm. He'll drive back otherwise."

Something wasn't right. Hakuba stepped forward. "Might I accompany you? If that boy is with Kaitou Kid, I'd like to question him on where Kid might have gone afterwards."

Hattori turned. "No way 'n _hell_." And stalked away.

"Now wait a minute," Hakuba protested, hurrying to keep up. "You'll be looking after the boy, and I can go looking for Kid. We won't be in each other's way-"

"_No_," Hattori said more firmly. "Ya'll just bully th' kid ta get yer answers. Y're too obsessed with catchin' Kid that you forget what's goin' on 'round ya. I know how to talk ta that kid. _You_ don't. So buzz off 'n' go chasin' top hats. I'll actually be _helpin'_ someone in need."

Hakuba came up short. He was focused on capturing Kaitou Kid and unmasking him as Kuroba Kaito certainly, but he didn't ignore the world around him.

... Did he?

* * *

Kaito looked into the mirror that Kudo had held up for him. He shook his head. "Still not right," he mumbled.

"Dammit, Kid, how _picky_ do you have to be?"

"Extremely. 's the only way I've survived..."

Kudo looked away.

Kaito blinked, holding his monocle a little closer. When Kudo had informed him of this absolutely _crazy_ idea of how to save his caped behind, he'd initially thought it was just a farce. Some strange joke that was going to get him into a set of handcuffs. But looking at the shrunken sleuth now, Kaito was wondering if Lady Luck was stretching out her hand in this tiny form.

_If you are, I need to have a serious talk with you. Kudo is _not_ one of your agents; bodies drop too much around him._

Letting out a soft sigh, Kaito quietly said, "Brush the hair again."

"You know," the not-child replied. "Given how windy it is, I don't think anyone would notice how mussed up your hair is."

"I'll know." A cough. "I have to look in the mirror and not see _anything_ of myself to know I've done it right." Of course a large part of that was _thinking_ like the person he was becoming, and Kaito's thoughts were rather hard to corral at the moment. Even now, he was thinking more like Kaito than Kaitou, and that was dangerous. If he couldn't even keep himself straight, how was he going to be someone else?

As it was, Kaito had shed his cape, hat, jacket, shoes and socks. He probably could have gone for some of his changes of clothes that he had, but he wasn't in any condition at the moment to really change. Most of his materials and things that _couldn't_ be found on him once he went through with this bizarre plan had been stuffed into his hat, something that could at least be hidden somewhere without being noticed, he hoped.

And this plan was bizarre. So bizarre, it sounded like one of his hair-brained ideas. Which meant it would probably work. But there was going to be a cost.

"Tantei-kun, you sure about this?" he asked as the bristles of the comb scratched at his scalp again.

"_Yes_."

And there was _conviction_ in that voice.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

Kaito coughed again. "You're about to aide and abed a highly wanted thief. You'll be going against your friends. Against your 'only one truth'. Just to help me. Why?"

That question had been burning in him. Kudo was an idealist to the extreme. He lived, breathed, and ate the whole "There is only one truth" philosophy of his. He fought for justice and truth and uncovering lies. Even now, in his mini-form, he continued with the whole pursuit of truth. Oh, Kaito knew that Kudo had lied about who he was; that of all the people that Kaito knew, Kudo would probably be the only one who _might_ possibly understand what he was doing. But that didn't change the fact that Kudo was a detective, pint-sized or not. His instinct should be to turn him in. But from what Kaito could see, there was no hesitation. No reluctance whatsoever in doing whatever it took to hide him, treat him, and keep him safe.

And in doing so, this was going to _cost_ Kudo. Kaito was certain of that. He knew what was going to happen when he appeared at the hidey-hole that Kudo was having prepared. He understood very well the repercussions that would most likely result, even if he didn't know the details. Granted, it would all depend on Kaito's acting skills, but that wasn't going to be a problem, though it certainly _would_ be a test of his endurance. But he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted his minimized favorite follower to pay such a heavy cost. It didn't feel right, but he could think of _no_ alternative.

Kudo sat back with a long sigh, rubbing at his eyes. Thankfully the walls of Osaka Castle blocked out the worst of the wind, but Kaito had to strain his ears to hear what Kudo said so quietly. "Because... because... it's the right thing to do."

Kaito blinked, not certain he'd heard that right at all. This was the right thing to do? For Kaito himself, it certainly was. He was going to be hidden, treated, and then he could slip away once he got his strength back. But for _Kudo_? A detective to willingly break the law? And this could _hardly_ fall under the rationalization of Witness Protection like Kudo's case could be.

"And people think _I_ have a warped mind," Kaito mumbled.

Kudo snorted and went back to brushing Kaito's mop of hair.

The rumbling thunder was closer and as Kudo brushed, Kaito reached into his hat, digging through what was there and pulled out a spare set of socks, a set that _didn't_ match his shirt color. All the more in keeping with his disguise, rushed as it was. Of course, trying to put them on _hurt_. That damn bullet hole felt more like a broken rib and moving his arms at all moved the muscles along his side that just made it... _Owwww_. Kudo hurried to help him, which Kaito was grateful for.

Both paused however, before Kudo went back to brushing his hair.

"Barometric pressure's dropping," the small detective growled as Kaito pulled out a familiar black cloak that he'd once used to hide the two of them before, at an old shrine to hide from a psychotic psychologist.

With a hiss, rain started to fall. "Luck, you're not being much of a lady tonight," Kaito grumbled.

"Indeed," Kudo agreed, turning on his watch flashlight back to Kaito's unruly hair. The trees and cloak did a good job of keeping most of the rain off them, only particularly fat drops falling through as the thunder rumbled ever nearer. "Dammit, it's almost past two in the morning. Where are you, Hattori?" The truncated detective pushed his glasses up again.

"If he's smart, he's taking his time evading Hakuba," Kaito replied.

Kudo didn't respond, still brushing his hair.

"Kuroba..."

"I am Kaitou Kid."

"Kid. Ran and I will come up with a cover story to keep Occhan distracted, but you're probably going to have to call Aoko-san so that she doesn't get suspicious."

Kaito grimaced, his poker face having long since been discarded under these highly bizarre circumstances. _That's right... Aoko... She'll be worried if she doesn't hear from me..._ And Kudo's ready usage of his real name was _not_ helping Kaito stay focused. Kudo wasn't Hakuba. (_Thank you, Lady Luck. Thank you, Tsukiyomi-sama_.) Hakuba had a basic suspicion of his identity but absolutely no proof. Once proof was obtained, there was no doubting what the outcome would be, so Kaito stayed three steps ahead of him. Kudo, if that little performance on the roof was any indication, _knew_ who he was beyond a shadow of a doubt, _and_ had proof enough to back up his claims. But Kudo _wasn't_ doing anything about it. He'd even said up at the Sky Garden that he'd just wanted to talk.

_Damn little teenage toddler loves changing the rules on me_... But he wasn't going to admit to anything now. Not until he had his head on straight and could figure out what the hell to do.

Kudo held the mirror in front of him again and Kaito took a deep breath, reaching for the character he was going to portray.

"It'll do."

Nodding, the small not-boy settled down, shaking out his hands. "Now we wait for Hattori."

Kaito shook his head. "You really think this will work?"

"It sounds like something _you_ would do. So it should turn out just fine."

He chuckled in response.

They sat together in silence, miserable in the rain and growing thunder. Neither spoke as Kaito got more and more exhausted. Kudo had done wonders on doing a makeshift bandage and compress and, based on his rate of blood loss, no major arteries had been hit. But he _was_ bleeding, in the rain, and had been awake for a _long_ time.

"Kudo!" a voice flittered in the wind.

"Wait here," the small detective said before lifting the cloak and dashing off into the darkness.

That was fine for Kaito. He was getting _really_ sleepy. Maybe he could rest his eyes for a few minutes...

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Well, well, well. That should explain part of the What The Hell Happened. Hakuba, as always, remains elusive, the bastard. But writing Hattori's panic sure was fun. ^_^ Whirlwind of destruction indeed! Who can blame him for getting all protective of Shinichi, after all, the guy's stuck in the form of a _child_. That leaves him more vulnerable than he would be as an adult. The idea of Hattori going samurai on everyone was just immensely amusing, especially since that wasn't in our initial draft. He just kinda told us while we were writing.

Shinichi, as always, flows easily and his instinct on protecting Kaito is confusing him as much as it is Kaito. The two of them _really_ need to sit down and talk, ne? Too bad things just _keep_ getting in the way.

Mah, not much to really say in this chapter. Reactions and getting from point A to point B.

Oh. Yes, there is a baseball field in Osaka Castle Park. Don't ask us.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part Eight**

**Note:** Yeah, a lot of you have predictions. We don't think you really predicted this.

* * *

Kazuha watched her best friend pace with worry. Ran tugged at the sleeves of her turtleneck before a hand went up to clutch the recent necklace, a gift from her beloved (invisible) Shinichi. She made a steady back and forth pace, her footfalls soft in the wee hours of the morning. The akido master suppressed a yawn - her friend's frantic call had woken her from a deep sleep, and the words were garbled at best; something about Shinichi not calling her when he said he would, something about little Conan having a close call. About the only thing that really made sense to her was the barely reigned in worry - almost panic - in her Tokyo friend's voice, and Kazuha was quickly dressed and waiting for her when she came home.

"I'm sure Kudo's fine," Kazuha drawled, not for the first time as she watched her friend pace. Thunder continued to roll in, rain pounding the roof. "The storm's probably interferin' with his cell reception. I could barely hear ya when ya called earlier, okay?"

Ran nodded. "You're right... You're probably right..." but she turned around and started pacing again.

Kazuha sighed, deeply concerned about her friend. She'd known about the worry, of course. She could see it whenever Ran talked about Shinichi. But it had always been a sad kind of worry, a whimsical pressure that came when you worried for so long you learned to live with it, learned to deal with it in small doses, when the topic in question came up. Seeing Ran pace in circles around the room, Kazuha knew this was much more intense. The Tokyo denizen had talked a little about it at breakfast with the new girl Aoko; she and Shinichi had had a clandestine meeting where they'd talked about marriage. Kazuha couldn't help but wonder if they talked about something else, something to cause this level of worry in the Tokyo denizen.

"Alright," she said finally, getting up. "Y're makin' me dizzy with all this pacin'. I'm gettin' ya another glass o' water."

"I'm sorry, Kazuha-chan," Ran said, obviously mad at herself for worrying her friend. "I don't mean to be like this. He's always called when he said he would. Between that and Conan-kun, I'm a wreck!"

Kazuha sighed, smiling slightly, before changing direction and hugging her dear friend. "I'd be a wreck too, if that brat decided ta go fer a ride on a thief's hang glider; I'm surprised ya aren't gonna kill 'im."

Ran actually managed a small laugh. "I just might when I see him. Hattori-kun should have picked him up by now..."

The pair started when they heard a door slam open.

"Ran!" a boy's voice called. Kazuha watched her friend's face slack in relief as she kneeled down and a soaked Conan leapt up into her arms. The akido master thought she saw the boy glance at her before turning full focus on his caretaker and bursting into information. "I went hang gliding with Kaitou Kid-nii-chan and he dropped me off near this huge baseball park and he left in a puff of smoke and then he startled me by grabbing my shoulder and I tried to help but I couldn't fix it and then he showed up on his motorcycle and-"

"Conan-kun!" Kazuha interjected, tugging at the boy's ear. "Ya aren't makin' any sense!"

"But he needs help!" the boy said quickly, pointing the way he had come.

Kazuha watched Ran first, saw her face pale, her eyes widen, and her hands tighten around Conan like a teddy bear, shock washing her out. With growing horror, Kazuha turned around slowly. Heiji was there, also soaked through from the driving rain outside, thunder cracking over their heads, and he was holding an arm. The arm was attached to a drenched shirt, the darkness of the water unable to hide the darker reds splotched by his ribs, and a matted brown head that had a cowlick in back just like Conan's. Piercing blue eyes lifted up, pain-filled but clear, and surveyed the scene around him.

"Ran," Kudo Shinichi said weakly, "sorry I keep worrying you."

Time seemed to still; the moment hung in the air, everything charged with emotional electricity. Kazuha could only stare as she realized just what was in front of her. So many thoughts were spilling through her head, she thought she was going to explode; her breath was caught in her lungs and it wouldn't move. There was pressure on her chest that she couldn't explain, and she found herself almost dizzy with revelation.

"Kazuha," Heiji said tersely, "a place ta lay'im out?"

His smooth voice broke the spell, and pandemonium seemed to explode into the room.

"Shinichi! Shinichi!"

"Ran-nee-chan! I can't breathe; it's okay, I'm here!"

"Here, down th' hall; ta the spare bedroom."

"Thanks for the lift, Hattori."

"_You_ keep yer trap shut. Once I know y're gonna be fine I'm gonna hit ya somethin' fierce."

"Heiji, ya know where the towels are?"

"Hang on, 'e's heavy."

"Shinichi!"

"Ran-nee-chan, please!"

Kazuha saw over her shoulder the tiny boy finally break from Ran's grip, tumbling forgotten to the floor before getting up and boldly chasing after Ran and hopping back up, impressively climbing the front of the teen girl until his face was in front of hers. "Ran!" the boy said in much deeper tones. "I'm _here_!"

Ran seemed to pause, but Kazuha turned back before she walked into a wall, dashing down to a closet and pulling out an armload of towels. She all but tossed them into the spare bedroom before dashing to the kitchen to boil some water.

Coming back, she demanded: "What happened?"

Kudo looked up, still delicately unbuttoning his shirt and wincing with every movement before giving a lazy grin. "I think it's safe to conclude from the evidence that I've been shot," he said in a mild tone.

Heiji smacked Kudo upside the head.

"Ow!"

"I toldja ta keep yer trap shut! Ahou!"

"Here!" Ran said quickly, coming in from somewhere. "I found the first aid kit!"

Heiji nodded, already tugging at Kudo's shirt. "Here, help me with this," he muttered.

Kazuha, knowing little about first aide outside of a martial arts bout, realized she might be a third wheel. Seeing Conan up on the bed, she swept him up into her arms (with a startled yelp from him) and said quickly, "I'll keep 'n eye 'n Conan-kun, after I call fer an ambulance," she said, backing up to leave.

"NO," Kudo all but shouted. "No hospitals!"

"Ya been shot, Kudo!" Kazuha cried out in dismay. "That has ta be reported!"

"No," Heiji said, standing up. "He's right, we can't tell anyone 'bout this."

Kazuha gaped. "What?"

Sensing the argument, Heiji roughly grabbed Kazuha's wrist, giving Conan enough leverage to escape, and tugging her down the hall back to the main room. Kazuha would have broken out of his grip easily if it weren't for the mental overload she was suffering. She was still trying to process that she had just _met_ the Kudo of legend, let alone that he'd been _shot_ and was _bleeding_ and was _refusing_ medical help and Ran was panicking and... and...

Kazuha decided to release her frustration.

"Dammit, Heiji, what th' _hell's_ goin' on?"

"Kazuha, ya can't tell _anyone_ that Kudo's here, ya got that?"

"It's gotta be reported!"

"No! No one can know!"

"Why the hell not? Ahou!" she shouted.

"'_Cause they'll kill'im!_" Heiji roared.

Kazuha had half a retort on her lips when the words finally sank in and, at last, she stilled.

"... What?"

The akido master was relegated to watching again, only this time it was Heiji that was pacing, running a hand through his dripping hair. "God damn Kudo," he was muttering. "I'll kill'im fer this if there wasn't a choice, th' _bastard_." He growled and kicked at the furniture, rubbing his temples to stave off a headache. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned frighteningly fierce eyes to Kazuha.

"Kazuha, there's a reason Kudo's never seen," he said slowly. "A while 'go, he stumbled on ta somethin' he wasn't s'pposed ta see, 'kay?"

She nodded, still in shock.

"They conked'im on the head an' left'im fer dead, but he didn't die," he continued, looking away in what might have been guilt, if Kazuha had the presence of mind to read his expressions. "He's been in hidin' ever since, tryin' ta find the guys that almost killed'm. Kazuha, this is deep shit, alright? If," Heiji growled, chewing out the words, "if that damn idiot shows up at a hospital and _They_ find'm, there won't be a need fer a body bag 'cause there won't be enough of'm ta put in one."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Kazuha, ya can't tell _anyone_, not even yer parents. Not even old man Mouri."

"Hattori!" the boy Conan appeared, his small hands covered in blood. "Our hands aren't big enough."

Heiji's already grim face darkened further, and he let her go; Kazuha found her legs couldn't quite support her, and she sank to the ground. Conan looked at her from across the room, his face pained.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, before padding back to the bleeding Kudo.

* * *

Once the wound had been cleaned with boiling water - something Kuroba hissed over when it was applied, and they could see the extent of the damage, Conan heaved a sigh of relief. Poking through the clothing and tracing the trajectory, the bullet had bounced off of something in the thief's breast pocket (something Conan was steadfastly _not_ going to discover...) and then bounced off a rib before exiting. No major organs had even been grazed, and though the rib seemed to be bruised (to say the least), it wasn't cracked or broken, and that meant healing time would be greatly reduced. Kid passed out somewhere during the dressing, and that was probably for the best.

Ran offered first watch, still unable to pry her eyes off of Kid. It had been her idea to disguise the moonlighting thief as Shinichi, and he knew that it would cost him a lot to do it, but he (nor Ran, it looked like) were quite prepared for _her_ reaction to seeing her beloved Shinichi bleeding and wounded in front of her. With Kazuha underfoot it had been especially hard to ease her mind, but he'd finally managed, and he _knew_ Hattori was going to rip him a new one when this was all over. The Detective of the West kept glaring daggers at him, silently demanding an explanation and accusation that Kazuha, at least partly, had now been officially dragged into the mess. Conan hid in his room until everything settled down.

Kogorou stumbled in around four in the morning, oblivious to the world around him as he shuffled and stumbled into bed. Conan had figured as much; he'd already come up with a cover story if he'd noticed the bloody towels, but injured animals on the road were weak at best, and he sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to use it; it wouldn't cover hiding Kuroba in the house, and the pint-sized detective hadn't yet come up with a reason Kogorou would be forbidden from the back bedroom. Silently, Conan asked whomever was listening to keep the Sleeping Detective busy with the heist.

He couldn't sleep, and he doubted anyone in the house other than Kid and Kogorou could either. He could hear hissed comments from Kazuha - she'd finally processed a little of what she'd been told and was irate that Kudo's Big Secret had been kept from her. Conan buried his head in his knees further and mentally apologized. Again.

Six o'clock came and the phone shrieked across the house. Conan beat Hattori to the phone and picked up. He barely had the receiver off the hook when the entire room was inundated with a long string of swears.

"Inspector Nakamori?" Conan asked in the most boyish voice he could muster under the circumstances.

The man was obviously not the one on the phone, because a difference voice, more placating than volatile, was trying to squeeze in, "Er, I'm sorry to bother you so early, but is Mr. Mouri-"

"We are not ##$^% asking that &*%*$^* snoring #^*$#$#$&)%#%*$ over here for any )(*&^%$#!*&^%$# reason!"

"I'll let him know you called," Conan said softly, hanging up the phone. At Hattori's withering gaze, he said, "They want Occhan."

His peer shrugged. "It'll get him out of the house," he said in logical tones.

Conan nodded silently. "Hattori..." he started.

"Don't bother," the tanned youth cut off. "I know ya can't 'xplain all this 'til Kid's awake."

"I'm sorry..."

"An' I'm gettin' _real_ tired o' hearin' that," Hattori added in cold tones. Conan forced himself to look up at his friend's eyes. "Ya did the best ya could under the circumstances. I _sure_ ain't happy with how you 'n' Nee-chan decided ta play this, and there better be a _damn_ good explanation fer this, but ya did say once that Kid can dress as ya without a mask, an' there wasn't time fer much else." The glare softened a little, and Conan realized that it wasn't him that Hattori was mad at; it was Kid for putting him in this position. He suddenly hoped Hattori wasn't around when Kid woke up.

"You get breakfast," Hattori said. "I'll get th' old man up. If we stuff somethin' in his face, hopefully he won't notice the extra plate b'fore we kick'm out."

"Are you joining him?" Conan asked, feeling slightly better on how things stood with his best friend.

"I'll wait 'til Kid's awake," he replied, his face darkening again. "I got some things ta say ta him."

Kogorou was still half asleep when Conan and Hattori managed to bully him out of the house around quarter to seven. He didn't seem to notice anything, and Conan breathed a sigh of relief at dodging another bullet. Er, no pun intended. With the sun hidden behind the continuing rain and morning starting to filter in around him, he felt it a little safer in a task he was dreading to do.

Sneaking into the room shared with Kazuha and Ran, he pulled out Ran's cell phone and filed through the numbers, looking for the one he'd need. Writing it down, he told Hattori where he was going before pulling out his voice changing bowtie and - taking a deep breath and swallowing an irrational swell of fear - stepped out of the house and went looking for a payphone.

It wasn't the first time he was afraid to leave the house. Whenever he had a run in with the Black Organization, he always felt a little twitchy about showing his face in public. Edogawa Conan he may be in this form, but _he_ still knew he was Kudo Shinichi and he was petrified that someone would recognize him as such. With Kuroba injured as he was, and his disguise of choice bringing up some very uncomfortable memories it brought up the old fears, and Conan looked over his shoulder perhaps a bit more than was considered normal before he found a payphone.

Pulling up a morning stack of papers and using them as a stool, he punched in the number he'd copied after dialing his bowtie. He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath as he listened to the answering service.

"Hi! This is Nakamori Aoko's cell phone! Sorry I'm not here, my phone's either off or charging, so leave a message and I'll get back to you."

There came the obligatory beep, and Conan dove right in. "Yo! Aoko! Rise and shine already, you're wasting the day! Just wanted to let you know, those relations I told you about? They really did kidnap me and hold me hostage. I'm in a straightjacket and handcuffs right now, so it might be a while before I see you. If they try to brainwash me, I'll let you know!"

He hung up quickly, a little surprised that he was shaking after the phone call. He couldn't believe he'd managed to sound so upbeat and perky. He hoped it would last until that damn thief could call her himself.

He headed back to the house.

* * *

Hakuba awoke at eight o'clock in the morning after four hours of sleep. He needed at least seven to be functional, but Hakuba had learned over several heists that it was better to get the sleep before the heist rather than after. He'd slept for several hours the previous afternoon, waking at eight that evening to prepare for the chase. Not only did it leave him rested, it allowed him to have less sleep in cases of heists gone wrong.

The blond frowned, pausing in his dressing as he again remembered events of the previous night - earlier that morning, really.

The heist had gone flawlessly - for Kid at least - until he'd gone up to the roof. Nakamori was still scorching ears for the bogus order to fire that only the one sniper had seemed to get. It could be a lie, of course. Hakuba hadn't checked the man's record (and really, that was more Nakamori's department, at any rate), but the half Japanese detective couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.

He'd met the collector, the owner of the Birth of Spring, and was refreshingly surprised to find the man not to be some arrogant wealth monger, greedy and possessive. He truly was just a collector, interested in size and cut and look of a jewel instead of monetary value. Many of his jewels had been of modest size or grade, baubles by other's standards. He'd been surprised to even get the heist note, and considered it some kind of right of passage, some kind of event that made him worthy of certain circles. He had actually _looked forward_ to the experience, and the collector hadn't wanted the affair marred with bloodshed. The snipers had been a set-up from his accountant rather than the man himself, and even then the collector had been very stringent on not firing unless ordered - and even then, only to wound, not kill.

It made the idea of an order ridiculous, and the sniper's story didn't seem right, but Hakuba couldn't help sensing a ring of truth in it. He hated it when he sensed something, because there was no proof of it, and if he couldn't justify it, it was useless to him.

Another thing that was puzzling him was the Osakan detective. Hattori Heiji, on the rare times that they'd met, had been provocative - even confrontational - but never so emotionally charged that he didn't think. Hakuba had seen the handcuffed snipers, heard their tales of a raging teenager. He'd seen the bruises and the embarrassed glances that professionals had been so quickly and thoroughly taken down.

All of that, however, could be rationalized away; fear for the sake of a child, rash concern getting carried away.

It was the finger that bothered him.

Even now it irked him enough to raise his hackles. An innocuous, if veiled, comment on Hattori's destructive rampage would, on any other day, earn a glare or a snide comment, even a flip retort. _Never_ a finger. It just wasn't _decent_, and while the Detective of the West was many, many things, he was not unsavory. That honor was laid entirely at Nakamori's feet.

Tugging at his cuffs until they were precisely one-half inch from the edge of his coat sleeves, Hakuba grabbed his topcoat and exited his hotel room. It would serve no purpose to go back to Umeda Sky Building; Nakamori would still be screaming curses at the sniper who fired. No, the better course of action would be to follow up on Hattori, ask him his opinion (however colorful) of the heist and try to ascertain _why_ he'd become so emotional over a child he barely knew.

The self-imposed assignment proved to be more difficult than he'd initially thought. He'd not returned to the Sky Building, and none of the local police had seen him. He'd stopped off at the Osaka main station, but the officers there had not seen him either. All he got for his troubles was an interesting meeting with one Hattori Heizo, a tall and intimidating man who simply stood and _glared_ at Hakuba, before demanding what business the teen detective had with his son. The presence of the man did not leave Hakuba willing to share his ideas. Trying to explain them in words would make it sound trivial and too simplistic for where his mind was leading him - because he was starting to convince himself that Hattori had something _else_ invested in the heist, and he was _damn_ curious what it had to do with Kaitou Kid.

In the end, he'd simply informed the father that he would like to have a conversation with his son.

"You are much different than Heiji described," the man said simply.

Then he turned and left.

He was feeling more than a little put out by this point, and Hakuba waited until he was out of the precinct before allowing himself to growl in frustration. He was two blocks away before a uniform jogged up to him, hailing his attention.

"If ya want ta find Hattori-kun," he said quickly, glancing over his shoulder anxiously, "if he ain't at home, then try Toyama-sama's house." Then he turned and ran back to the precinct.

Hakuba felt his eyebrow twitch. Who the hell was Toyama-sama?

* * *

It took a moment for Kaito to realize he was awake, another to remember a frightening jumble of thoughts. Had he dreamed the Everything Goes Wrong Nightmare? Tantei-kun was in it, but so was Kudo... and Hattori? There was also the overwhelming instinct to play dead - on that, at least, Kaito listened. It was rare indeed for him to feel so jumbled, but given that he was supposed to have been on a heist it was better to be paranoid than sorry-

The heist!

Images pounded against his skill: Hattori giving chase, the dash up to the roof, the terrifying conversation with tantei-kun (he could _prove_ he was Kaitou Kid! He was _soooooo_ screwed!), the dive, the pain, the hang glider, the half-cocked idea of dressing as Kudo, the girlfriend's face (aw, man, her face! Kudo was going to _kill_ him for causing her that much worry!) and... and... what happened after that?

The bed he was in was soft, he recognized that, softer than he'd expected any prison cell bed to be. There weren't any drunkards singing slurred songs as they sobered, there wasn't the sound of cell doors sliding open and closed, no scent of undrinkable coffee of cops, no symphony of curses from Nakamori, no bruises from Aoko... so... what?

"Ah, Conan-kun."

The girlfriend?

"Any change yet?"

Kudo?

"No, he's still sleeping."

"I hope he wakes up soon. I _think_ we did a good job with the bandaging, and I didn't _see_ any other injuries; but if the damn idiot hit his head and didn't say anything..."

"I'm sure he's fine. After what he's been through - he is a 'he', right? - I think anyone would sleep for hours."

"... too bad I can't."

"The whole reason you came here was to talk to him."

"And we keep being interrupted."

"You know you can get some sleep now, Shinichi. I don't think anyone would fault you."

Kaito's heart stopped. It did. Really. _What the f-_

"What I wouldn't give... but I need to be in here when he wakes up; preferably before Hattori decides to beat him within another inch of his life."

... Just _what_ did he miss when he was unconscious? Kaito almost opened his eyes, or at least frown, as more images passed over him, and he remembered more details of the previous (?) night. He'd been too injured to just drop Kudo off and fly into the moonset, Kudo was bound and determined to help him for reasons beyond Kaito's sense of sanity, and there hadn't been enough time to come up with a unique disguise and get him treated. The idea had come from on high from whoever was at the other end of his glasses (? A question for later...) that he be disguised as Kudo himself - an easy change - and arrange for Hattori to pick them up and carry them to a girl's house - Toyama Kazuha, Heiji's girlfriend from all accounts. His memory was sketchy at best, but he did remember Hattori yelling at him to keep his mouth shut...

Of course, because now Kazuha knew about _Kudo_, at least a little bit - one didn't drop in with a gunshot wound and not expect to get a story out of it - and now she was involved in whatever had the poor twerp so scared. _Shit_, Kaito thought, _just how far are the repercussions of this little stunt going to extend_?

And for _what_? Just what the _hell_ was Kudo going to get out of this other than blackmail material?

"How's Kazuha-chan taking this?"

"You haven't heard the whispered screaming matches in the kitchen?"

"Oh, dear," Ran said. "I'll have to talk to her."

"I can take over watching him for a while. You need sleep as much as the rest of us."

"I think I'll go get something to eat, first. I haven't eaten since yesterday." A rustle of fabric; the girlfriend had gotten up. "Shinichi...?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry... about my panic last night. I thought I could handle seeing him with your face; I really did, but..."

"It's okay, Ran." And Kudo's voice was very soft. "We both knew going into this what would and what might happen. I'm just glad you thought of it so quick, or we'd still be huddled in a puddle in Osaka Castle."

Kaito heard a door slide open and closed, and finally, he opened his eyes. The clock on the nightstand said it was ten in the morning. "So this was all _her_ idea?" he said, surprised at how dry his throat was, how cracked it sounded.

Kudo didn't even have the decency to look surprised, damn him. He just hopped off the chair he was on and then onto the bed, a glass of water in his hand. "Here."

Kaito reached up with his good hand, hating how it pulled at his bad side, and accepted the glass with as much grace as he could muster. "So when did she find out about your truncation?"

Kudo laughed. "You're not much of a stalker if you don't know that," he said glibly.

"So sue me, I've been busy," Kaito replied, equally glib.

The pint-sized detective smirked, before it faded to a more measuring gaze. "How do you feel?"

Fair enough, and neutral ground to start. Kaito decided he was going to hate the direction of this conversation. "Like I was run over by a truck with Nakamori's face on the grill." He blinked when a tiny hand reached up and touched his forehead.

"Low grade fever," Kudo said clinically. "To be expected, I guess; at least it's not high. How much do you remember of last night?"

Another neutral question, only with much deeper undercurrents. The teen turned toddler didn't waste time dawdling. He was asking, without asking overtly, what Kaito remembered of that clandestine conversation on the roof, where Kudo had been slowly and deliberately pointing out that he had physical proof of Kuroba Kaito being Kaitou Kid - and from smoke capsules, of all things! Kaito had been kicking himself sixteen ways from Sunday when he'd realized the point Kudo had been leading up to on the roof. Ah, but what to say of it?

"I remember asking you why you were doing all of this," he responded, hoping to side track (and delay) that particular point of interest. "And getting some crap about it 'being the right thing to do.' I don't buy it, and neither do you."

To his surprise, Conan winced at the flip retort, and his answer was much longer in coming.

"There used to be this arrogant detective," he said slowly, the light reflecting off his glasses and making his eyes invisible. "He solved all kinds of cases and was becoming quite famous for it: the Great Detective of the East, they called him."

Kaito froze.

"But one day it all came crashing down. See, he was at Tropical Land with a girl, solving yet another murder, when he saw two suspicious men milling around. Arrogant and confident in himself, and completely sure these two suspicious men were up to no good, he ditched the girl and followed them. He witnessed a money exchange between one of the suspicious men and a third party. But he was caught by the second man, and hit on the head. He was made-" his voice faltered, and his head sunk lower, reliving the memory. "I was made to eat an experimental poison that was meant to kill me. My body was on fire, my muscles felt like they were being ripped to shreds, I though I was having a heart attack and... when I finally came to... I looked like _this_."

Kudo moved his hand in front of his face, a Boris Karloff gesture to indicate his shrunken form. The faux child looked up, and his boyish features were twisted with a look of pain that Kaito was all to familiar with - a look he'd seen on his own face whenever he thought about his father and how he was murdered.

"Those two suspicious men, those men in Black, their names are Gin and Vodka. There are others, too; it's a large organization, dressed entirely in black. The next time I saw them they were planning to blow up a train to silence a girl who knew nothing about them. They've blown up their own comrades. They were testing an experimental drug across the entire country that made people - kids - hallucinate that something precious was being taken away from them so that they could behave violently and then have no memory of what happened."

Breathe, _breathe_ Kaito; _breathe_ so you can keep listening; don't think about what he's saying yet, don't think about what he's doing, about what he's _trusting_ you with, _just breathe!_

"If the Black Organization ever found out I was alive, they'd kill me and everyone close to me." A deep breath of his own, and Kudo adjusted his glasses. "I use Occhan so that one day, when he's famous enough, when he's good enough, someone will ask him to investigate Them, and then I can _take Them down_."

The child leaned back. "The only people who know are Professor Agasa, my parents, Hattori, and now Ran. She found out during that case you decided to steal some time." His grin turned wry, the look not quite reaching his eyes. "You had a bug in my home and you still didn't figure it out. You suck as a stalker.

"You're right, helping a Phantom Thief wouldn't, by strict definition, be the right thing to do. But, I've had to fake an entire identity and lie to the vast majority of the world. I failed to save a hostage from that organization. If I do that many things wrong, then one more won't count against me."

Then he looked smug. "Besides, a funny thing happened last night during the heist. This crazy thief grabbed me and fell off the roof of a building before taking me on a roller coaster hang glider ride. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I dropped these two little smoke pellets that I had been holding as evidence. I don't suppose you've seen them, have you?"

Gaping, Kaito could only numbly shake his head.

"Well damn," Kudo said with a theatric sigh, crossing his arms. "There goes the only evidence I have. I guess I couldn't turn in Kaitou Kid even if I wanted to. Because, you know," he added in much more boyish tones, "just as Kaitou Kid-nii-chan flew off Shinichi-nii-chan grabbed me by the shoulder and I got really distracted."

Slowly, very slowly, Kaito finally managed a gulp. Kudo... he just... Not only did he take a major hit for dressing the thief as himself to keep him hidden, he just explained in minute detail _how_ he had come to be Edogawa Conan - a private story if ever there was one - and _now_ he was calm-as-you-please explaining that he wouldn't turn in Kaitou Kid just because he'd "lost" the evidence?

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, surprised his voice still worked. "Why did you just trust me with all that? You don't know anything about-"

Kudo's gaze hardened, but not completely. "You're right. I don't know much about you, _Kuroba_. But I know the pain on your face when that guy Minagami insulted your father. I've seen it on _my_ face too many times not to recognize it. And... I can't ever catch you now, because I figured it out on the wrong playing field. Since I can't meet your challenge like that again, I had to give you... something... to compensate."

... He thought this was a fucking _consolation_ gift?

"And," he added, softly, looking down again, "I know you're stuck in a house full of detectives; I think there should be some measure of trust, if you're going to hide out here, and all I really have to offer is the truth."

Kaito leaned back into his bed, utterly exhausted. "And people think _I'm_ out of my freaking mind," he muttered.

"Kuro-Kid, there's something I need to ask you," Kudo said softly. "And I can't wait to ask any longer..."

"Hey!" Hattori's voice, somewhere else in the house. "You can't just barge in here an'- Hey! Hey! Get back here!"

The two teenagers, both disguised, stared at each other in horror as they heard footsteps pounding towards them.

_Improv, improv, think!_

Kaito gestured for Kudo to join him on the bed, took some water and rubbed it on his forehead and slapped his cheeks to make them more red before grunting, "Hey, kid, stop jumping on the bed!"

It was just in time for the door to slide open and one blond half British snoop to burst into the room. He stared at the two of them.

"... Kuroba-kun?"

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Whew, that last scene was such a biggy. Ultimately, the thing that was pinning Conan down was the evidence, the two smoke pellets. He's gotten to see enough shades of grey at this point - and can probably take more than a few educated guesses about Kuroba's and Kid's motivations for what he does, to not want to help him, but the evidence was like his conscience - he had to either turn it in or throw it away, and he couldn't quite bring himself to throw it away - it was too big a compromise. But now that it's nice and lost things should go a little more smoothly for him. The rest of it is now in Kid's lap.

Kazuha was another big scene, too. She's an important character (for Heiji if no one else) and is an immediate representation of the sacrifice that Conan willingly made to keep Kid under wraps - another screw in Kaito's coffin of guilt.

Not really much else to say; the chapter rather explains itself. Kaito's reactions are always fun to write. :P

Well, now, Conan and Kaito are in quite a pickle, how will they get out of it?


	9. Chapter 9

**Part Nine**

_Need sleep._

He looked at the clock.

_Need coffee._

Heiji cursed the time he'd read with as much vehemence as he could muster. After treating Kudo-disguised Kid, there hadn't been much opportunity to discuss anything since Kazuha seemed determined to hover around. Hell, there hadn't been _any_ chance to talk.

When Ran had sent that text telling him to pick up Kudo - the pint sized Kudo, not the current imposter he was harboring - Heiji had expected to just grab Kudo and head back. What Ran had _neglected_ to mention was that he'd discover _two_ Kudos. Granted, Heiji understood that Kudo could be _damn_ paranoid, but Nee-chan too? Shouldn't _someone_ have given him a clue that he was about to aid and abed a known international thief?

But no, pint-sized Kudo had dragged Heiji by the hand to a cluster of trees where the shrunken detective easily crawled under the branches. Once hidden from view he'd cursed and ordered Heiji to get in there and help. With what Heiji hadn't known, but he'd been shocked to see the puny Kudo trying to wake up a full sized Kudo... who was bleeding...

Bad enough it was _pouring_. They'd soaked all the way home... or rather to Kazuha's house as Kudo explained.

Oh, Heiji understood that Kid was a person in need of help. But damn it, it was Kaitou Kid! Because who else would be crazy enough to dress up as Kudo? Every instinct Heiji had was warring with himself. He was a _detective_ for crying out loud! He should be turning in the elusive thief, but Kudo insisted on hiding the criminal.

It was rankling, but Heiji hadn't had time to think. He'd just followed Kudo's lead. After all, Kudo had all the experience with the Black Organization and Kudo was good at coming up with the wildest ideas that worked. And there he was; Kazuha had found out that people were after Kudo and if her angry eyes were any indication, she'd be trying to find out more.

This was costing Kudo... the real Kudo. Now someone _else_ knew his secret, or at least part of it. Kudo had had a hard enough time when Ran had found out. Heiji had all but thrown the two of them together to get them to even _talk_ to each other. And now someone else was in danger; someone that Heiji himself had worked hard to keep _out_ of it, despite his screw-ups in calling Kudo by name instead of by that alias of Edogawa Conan.

And all the blame could be squarely laid at Kaitou Kid's feet.

Heiji yawned again. After Kid had been patched up, the Detective of the West had taken a shower to try and warm his frozen, soaked bones. It had done wonders to improve his mood, but it didn't change the situation. Heiji had turned it over in his mind, tried to look at it from every angle, but he knew he was missing something. Something Kudo seemed to have but wasn't sharing. And that was strange. Since Heiji had discovered Kudo, they didn't really keep things from each other. So Heiji would need to talk to Kudo. But he couldn't get the faux brat alone. The Tokyo detective would not leave Kid's side. Neither would Ran, really, but that was in keeping with the disguise Kid was wearing... to Heiji's disgust.

Another yawn and a rub of his eyes and Heiji gave up. He got off the couch and stretched, grateful he had a change of clothes for all the times he stayed over at Kazuha's for studying. (... and staying away from his father...) Another glance at the clock revealed it was already eight in the morning and Kogoro was probably at the station already after getting called in. Checking his cell showed a message from his mother. Heiji groaned. He'd promised his parents he'd come home after the heist, but things had gotten so crazy...

With a sigh, he dialed home.

"Hey, ma," he greeted.

"Oh Heiji," she replied. "How good of you to call." Her voice took on a hint of steel. "I noticed you didn't come home last night."

"I know," he mumbled, feeling closer to Kudo's apparent age, "things were chaotic last night after th' heist..."

"I know. I saw the news this morning."

Heiji didn't even want to _think_ about how the news was covering a shooting at a Kid heist. "Sorry ma. I didn't drop off the Mouri family 'till close ta four a.m. I sure wuzn't thinkin' of anythin' beyond a shower 'n' some sleep."

"I see."

"Seriously, I'm _fine_. I even took down all o' the snipers without even 'n ache. I'm all healed up 'n' already kickin' butt."

"I see."

Heiji took a deep breath and thanked whoever was looking out for him that his mother didn't see him roll his eyes.

"Look, 'm sorry I didn't call, 'kay? I just-"

"Heiji." Her voice sent shivers down his spine.

"I'm glad that you are well. Hopefully in the future, you're parents will warrant as much focus as interesting international criminals."

Properly chastised, Heiji offered a soft "Yes, ma'am." Head bowed, the dark skinned detective took the hint. "Well, just to letcha know, I'll be at Kazuha's fer a while, then I'll be headin' down to th' station." Heiji's face turned grim. "I wanna talk ta that damn fool sniper 'bout a few things."

"No doubt," his mother replied, a warm smile on her voice. "I'll expect you home for dinner."

"Yes'm."

Heiji hung up and let out a long breath.

"Yer mom checkin' up on ya?"

Heiji groaned again. He needed _sleep_ dammit! "Kazuhaaaa," he moaned. "Can we _not_ argue right now?"

Kazuha offered a sweet smile that reminded Heiji strongly of his mother's voice just a moment ago. "Fine then," she said as sweetly as her smile. "What can I do fer ya?"

Heiji hesitated, hoping he wouldn't ignite the explosion he _knew_ was coming. "Can I have some coffee?" he asked.

Still smiling Kazuha twirled, her ponytail swinging. "Get it yerself!" she hissed.

"Damn you, Kazuha," he hissed back, aware of the sleeping Kudo, Kid, and Ran upstairs. "Can't ya see I'm doin' the best I can?"

"No y'aint!" she growled, slightly louder. "Y're just usin' my natural hospitality. So why don't _you_ see ta _your_ guests!" She stomped away.

Heiji muttered curses lost in the rain still pounding on the roof.

The next two hours, Heiji was getting more and more frustrated. He tried to talk to Kudo and Ran about Kid and what to do only to get solid stonewalling tactics. Kudo evaded and ducked and sidestepped like a pro and Ran would only look at Kudo, see him shake his head, and then politely change topics.

In between the lack of answers, Kazuha was snipping and snapping at him for almost anything he did. Heiji was pretty sure he knew where it was coming from, but he didn't dare address it. He would put _that_ confrontation off as long as possible.

But all this did _not_ help his exhausted state. Coffee only seemed to make him more aware of his misery as the rain seemed to agree outside as it kept pouring down with an occasional rumble of thunder.

_Oh c'mon! Th' rainy season don't start 'till _June_!_

Heiji yawned and stretched again. He was probably working on... what... his third wind by now? And after what he'd told his mother, he wasn't going to be getting any sleep until he got home. Of course, he _wanted_ to talk to that idiot sniper and get some _real_ answers. Start doing some real detecting like he was supposed to. But given who was in Kazuha's house at the moment, he wasn't exactly holding up much hope on that score. Not until Kid finally woke up and Heiji could start getting answers. Or at least relieve some of his frustration.

Another glance at the clock showed that it was almost ten o'clock.

_Rgh. If Kid don't wake up soon, I'll kill'm..._

It looked like some more coffee was in order.

Kazuha walked into the kitchen just as Heiji did, and turned her nose up to him.

"Kazuha," Heiji started quietly, hoping that the gentle approach might work better than accusations or anger. He never got the chance to finish, however, since there was a polite, if insistent knock at the door.

Heiji tensed immediately. As far as he knew, Kazuha wasn't expecting visitors. Was it _Them_? Where they found so easily? Heiji looked around frantically. _That's it! I'm gonna carry a damn bokken wherever I go!_ He looked to Kazuha, who was glaring at him angrily. _Please let'r see _sense_!_ He put his finger to his mouth, motioning for her to be silent, and waved her away from the window.

Kazuha actually blinked, her shoulders slackening as she just looked at him, perplexed.

Heiji didn't have time to explain. He silently opened the door under the sink, looking for a plunger, but found none. _Dammit!_ The knocking repeated itself, still polite and insistent.

_No time!_ He put his hand at Kazuha's back and guided her to the walk-in pantry, where he almost closed the door, leaving it open a crack so that she could see the hall and the entry way, but be unseen by whoever was at the door. Ran, Kudo, and Kid were all upstairs, if Heiji put up enough resistance, they'd hopefully hear it and make a run for it.

On silent, socked feet, Heiji slid down the hall and carefully pulled out an umbrella from the rack. It wouldn't be anywhere _near_ as good as a bokken, but it would do for this pinch. He stepped into his shoes, the umbrella in front of him in a kendo stance as he took a moment to just breathe and reach for the calm he always had before a bout. The knock was more insistent and Heiji flung open the door.

To find Hakuba.

Heiji poked him with the umbrella anyway to release some of the adrenaline coursing through his system.

"What're ya _doin'_ here? How'd ya even _find_ here? Aaaargh, I haven't slept yet 'n' _you_ show up?"

Hakuba stared at him, flat-faced. "So sorry to disturb you," he replied and Heiji very much _doubted_ there was any truth in that statement. "I understand that the Mouri family is staying here?"

Heiji poked him with the umbrella again, rather liking the way it pushed Hakuba back out into the rain where his wavy blond hair continued to frizz. "Well, Mouri-han's already headed in ta th' station. So why're ya here again?"

"Oh come now, there's no need to be so rude."

Heiji begged to differ. He just stared at him.

"I wish to speak with that child. Since he was actually _there_ when Kaitou Kid was shot, I'd like to know what occurred."

_Shit, I forgot 'bout that..._ "So ya come bargin' over here when all ya hadda do was call?"

Hakuba's eyebrow twitched, to Heiji's supreme satisfaction. "Given that I didn't know where he was staying-"

"Ya coulda _asked_-"

"-and no one would tell me where _you_ were-"

"-and Nakamori woulda prob'ly found out-"

"-I've been walking in the rain for almost an hour-"

"-but y're so obsessed with Kid-"

"-one would _think_ you'd have the hospitality to invite me in-"

"-that ya don't even consider the most logical thing ta do."

"-and since you aren't, I wonder what you're hiding."

Heiji blinked. "'Scuse me?"

"You must be involved in that heist last night. I wonder how..." Hakuba pushed aside the umbrella and strode right past Heiji, who was cursing just about everything.

"Hey!" He shouted as loud as he could, hoping certain _other parties_ in the house would hear him. "You can't just barge in here an'- Hey! Hey! Get back here!" Heiji dropped the umbrella back on the floor and rushed out of his shoes to follow Hakuba who was already pounding down the halls. Kazuha came out of her hiding place, face as black as the storm outside and trailed after him.

"Damn jackass," Heiji growled as Hakuba started throwing open doors.

* * *

Hakuba heard a voice from what was likely the back bedroom. A very, very, familiar voice. He couldn't be so lucky, could he? Was this what Hattori was attempting to hide? But that was for a different time of deduction. Right now Hakuba was taking action. He _knew_ that voice. It belonged to only one person and if he was right, he was finally about to get the proof he'd been seeking. Anticipation was coursing through Hakuba. Kaitou Kid was _here_. He was sure of it. He could wonder as to why Hattori was aiding and abetting later. Right now, with his prize right in front of him, he wanted to relish the look of shock on Kaitou Kid's face as Hakuba finally put him in handcuffs.

He slid open the door, fully expecting to see Kaitou Kid.

That wasn't what he saw.

"... Kuroba-kun?"

Kuroba was here. Kuroba was here and he'd just heard Kaitou Kid's voice emanate from this room.

Glee!

Hakuba was practically brimming in glee. All he needed to do was search Kuroba, find the jewel, maybe search the house, and he'd have the thief red-handed. Glee. Pure, unpolluted glee was bubbling up in him. His very dream was sitting in front of him, looking a smidge feverish (since gunshot wounds always had a slight infection), and a bit worn, but _there_. Hakuba couldn't have been happier. This was it. This was everything he'd been striving for, ever since he returned to Japan. His goal; his omega to a quest that had started when he'd asked Kaitou Kid why he stole and the flippant reply was to figure it out himself. Now he could finally get some _answers_. Glee, joy, happiness, a sense of accomplishment, fulfillment, they were all waging war to be in the forefront of Hakuba's senses.

"Kaito-nii-chan? Where, where! I wanna see his doves again!"

Hakuba's eyes were drawn away from Kid to the small boy that was bouncing on the bed in front of him. Edogawa Conan was jumping on the mattress, looking around as Hattori and a girl he didn't recognize rammed into Hakuba from behind, pushing him further into the room.

"I told you, _off_ the bed," Kid stated flatly.

"Okay, Shinichi-nii-chan," the child replied, hopping off.

... Shinichi? Nii-chan? Hakuba looked between the two. They did indeed bear a _striking_ resemblance. Was Hakuba wrong? Only one way to make sure. He strode over and pulled at Kid's face.

"Owaaa!" Kid cried out, shoving at Hakuba. Not that it mattered, because Hakuba was grabbed roughly by the shoulder, two feminine-sized hands firmly grasping his arm before Hakuba was sent flying back out into the hall.

"Dontcha _dare_ upset a guest in _my_ home!"

Hakuba scrambled up, ignoring how his own cheeks flushed and that he was dripping on the floor. "Toyama-san, I presume?"

"I ain't answerin' any of yer questions 'til ya tell me who the _hell_ you think you are bargin' into my home 'n' pinchin' the cheeks of my guests like some old gramma!"

"It's okay, Kazuha-san," came from in the bedroom he'd just been ousted from. Kid stepped forward, in large pajamas clearly borrowed from someone, slinging a robe over them. "Hakuba Saguru-san, half-British, half-Japanese, son of Chief Hakuba of the Metropolitan Police, avid pursuer of Kaitou Kid and also accomplished detective, so much so that you're taking my title of Detective of the East. I'm pleased to finally meet you." A small cough into a handkerchief. "Forgive me if I don't shake your hand. I am Kudo Shinichi, detective."

Hakuba's mind went blank. Only the formality that was in his very bones let him bow properly and say, "I am also pleased to make your acquaintance as well." He looked over the face again. It _looked_ like Kuroba. But the hair was only sleep tossed, not the out-of-control mop that the magician wore. There were tired lines around the eyes and once more, the look of fever. But the tilt of the chin, how the shoulders were held, hands in the pockets of the robe, it _wasn't_ Kuroba. But nothing made any sense. "Forgive my boldness, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I know! I know!" Conan bounced around their feet, singing chants of "I know!"s. From down the hall Mouri Ran came, looking tired as well, rubbing at her eyes.

"Shinichi!" she cried out. "You should still be in bed!"

"Raaaan," the claimed Kudo gave a slight pout. That looked very much like when Kuroba pouted to Aoko except for the pure fondness. Kuroba looked at Aoko as a friend. This Kudo was looking at Mouri more like a... Hakuba blushed brighter. "I've been stuck in bed too long. I need to get up and about more often."

Beneath them, Conan continued to sing his chorus of "I know!" until he tugged at Hakuba's damp pant leg. "Hakuba-nii-chan! Kaitou Kid-nii-chan dropped me off at this big baseball park! I don't know why he put me in a baseball park, I always prefer soccer! Soccer is so much better than baseball! But anyway, Kid-nii-chan dropped me off, and you know what! When I left the park, Heiji-nii-chan picked me up! And it was raining and I got all wet and cold and Heiji-nii-chan was saying some bad words I think he learned from Nakamori-jii-san!"

Hakuba looked down. "Conan-kun. That doesn't explain what Kudo-san is doing here."

"Yes it does!" Conan offered a pure childish pout. "Because when we turned onto Kazuha-nee-chan's street, guess what! We saw Shinichi-nii-chan walking down the street! But you know how in cartoons if you're out in the rain too long you sneeze and get sick and stuff? I think Shinichi-nii-chan got worse wet than us because he was really sick last night! We had to wake up poor Kazuha-nee-chan because we needed help getting him all warm and dry and stuff. But Kazuha-nee-chan's real nice and let us help out Shinichi-nii-chan and-"

"I think he gets the idea, Conan-kun," Ran crouched down by him, running a hand through his hair. "I'll tell you what, Conan-kun. Why don't you take Shinichi to the kitchen, hm? You can warm his breakfast and serve it."

"Really?" Conan smiled brightly. "Come on, Shinichi-nii-chan! You can finish telling me about the story about the case of the murder by roller coaster!"

Kudo gave a slightly put-out look to Ran and gave a small cough. He turned to Toyama. "I really am sorry about the inconvenience, Kazuha-san."

"It's fine," replied the girl who had thrown Hakuba out of the room. "Just don't let Conan-kun anywhere _near_ th' stove."

Kudo sneezed as the small child led the way to the kitchen.

Hakuba took a deep breath, trying to process everything.

"Hakuba-san?"

He turned to Mouri.

"I understand that you wish to catch Kaitou Kid, but if you don't mind, I was very worried about Shinichi last night. Next time, could you perhaps have some evidence before you go disturbing others? I know that you're brilliant with cases, I saw that when you solved that horrid magic bullet murder, but I had no idea that you were so... rude." With that, Ran yawned and followed Kudo and Conan to the kitchen, no doubt to supervise two hopeless males in the kitchen. Hakuba had learned from his housekeeper early on that men were very, very rarely allowed in the kitchen here in Japan. Even back in England to some degree.

Hakuba's eyes trailed after them. "You're certain that he's Kudo-"

"You _asshole_!" Toyama growled. "_Yes_ that's Kudo. Now get outta my house!"

Hakuba was shaking his head, droplets of water, flinging from the damp locks. Things were starting to fall into place. Hattori had flipped him off because it _was_ Hattori and Hattori couldn't stand Hakuba any more than Hakuba could stand Hattori. Hattori and his umbrella at the door were no doubt because Hattori was headed out for medicine and his vehement reaction was due to worry for both Conan from the heist and his evident friend Kudo from when they'd returned. The reason why the voice he'd heard was so familiar was because Kudo and Kuroba really _did_ look similar, remarkably so. Hakuba had jumped to conclusions for the first time in a _long_ time and acted on them without any facts. It had all been so clear in his head mere moments ago, and now he had egg on his face.

Hattori grabbed Hakuba firmly by the arm. "_You_ are gonna take Kazuha's advice 'n' _leave_."

"Here, Heiji, lemme help ya," the girl replied, grabbing Hakuba by his other arm. Together they marched a dazed Hakuba back down the hall he came from. "Be grateful I'm not makin' ya clean the floor," she growled.

The three of them breezed past the kitchen where Hakuba saw Kudo with his arm around Mouri, both watching Conan struggling to pour a glass of juice from a container almost as big as the child's arm.

At the door, Hattori and Toyama both shoved and then slammed it shut behind them.

Once more soaked through, Hakuba wondered when his conclusions had run so far ahead of him.

* * *

Kazuha stalked to the living room once that pain-in-the-ass Hakuba had been _properly_ thrown out. This was... was... There wasn't even a word! Kazuha was pissed, she was shaking, and she was so very confused. When Heiji had tensed on just hearing a knock at the door and then all but shoved her into the pantry, she'd been scared. Heiji was _never_ that forceful with her outside of real danger. But that danger ended up being this _Hakuba_ jackass that, while inconvenient, wasn't a danger at all! Why was Heiji overreacting to such small things? Why had Kudo given his name if he was supposed to be hidden? Why not go with the "Kuroba" name that Hakuba had initially identified him as? And why the _hell_ did she get shoved into the closet? Why... Why hadn't she ever been told about all this? Why hadn't Heiji trusted her?

A dark hand put itself on her shoulder and Kazuha twirled, stepping back and away from the childhood friend she _thought_ she knew... The one who shared everything with her but now was apparently keeping _secrets_ from her... There was pain and anguish and confusion and frustration and anger and betrayal and disappointment and uselessness and so many things all roiling around inside of her that Kazuha was certain she would burst.

"Ahou!" she shouted. It was the only thing she could do. "What sorta game 're you playin' at?" she demanded.

"Kazuha..." And hurt flashed across Heiji's face. What right did _he_ have to be hurt? _She_ was the one who'd been lied to...

"There's no danger, is there? This whole stupid story 'bout Kudo bein' in danger is just a lie, right? A 'Let's Make Fun o' Kazuha 'cause She Doesn't Know Anything' thing, right?" Because how could she _not_ notice that Heiji was hiding something. She'd been with him since the cradle, practically. She thought she knew him... When had he changed? Why had he changed?

"'Cause if it's all true, then _why_ didja lie to me? Fer so long? What did I do ta prove you couldn't trust me? And _don't_ you say it's 'cause I'm a girl! I can kick yer ass better than anyone on yer kendo team! I coulda helped you! _Why_ wuz I not worth bein' in the know? Why-"

Heiji looked down, shamefaced, and it only made Kazuha angrier. What right did he have to feel bad? _She_ was the victim in this, right? She was the one kept in the dark. She was the one lied to. Even _Ran_ seemed to know... And even Ran hadn't told her and that hurt. Why couldn't anyone tell her the truth? They were all detectives, searching for the truth? So why didn't she deserve the truth?

"Kazuha-san, stop it." The quiet voice came from Kudo who stood calmly in the doorway, hands buried in his pockets, looking very pale. How had he slid into that robe so smoothly when he had a bruised rib and a goddamn _bullet hole_ in his side? How good was Kudo at lying to pull that off? Was he still lying to Ran? She didn't deserve that any more than Kazuha did... Kazuha shook her head, random observations distracting her.

"Kudo, this isn't about you-"

"I disagree," he replied calmly. He took a few steps into the room before slumping down to sit on the floor and lean against the wall. "Kazuha-san, I have a story for you. Please have a seat."

Kazuha looked at Heiji, who was still looking at her with his own hurt. Kazuha hmphed and strode away from him, sitting on the floor in front of Kudo. "Fine," she growled. "Just one story."

Kudo nodded. "I was following a lead in San Francisco, a city in America known for its steep hills. You see, there was an accountant in a very big firm. A very nice, young man from all reports. Thirty-five, a loving wife of ten years and two gorgeous little girls, ages seven and four. Living with this family was the accountant's mother-in-law, who acted as live-in babysitter while both parents worked."

"Yeah, yeah, perfect, happy couple," Kazuha grumbled.

Kudo just smiled sadly. "One day, the accountant found something that wasn't right. He double-checked it, and then triple checked it. It was such an odd filing that he brought it to the attention of his boss in the cubicle barnyard. A woman of around forty-seven, on her third husband. She also noticed how unusual this was and started to look into it on her own, independently of what the accountant had done. Now the accountant was well-known in the cubicles, but he only shared his unusual finding with one other coworker, a wide-eyed fresh-from-collage beginner as a sort of lesson of what to look for."

Kazuha nodded, wondering where the point was in all of this. Beside her, Heiji sat down, but she ignored him and scooted away.

"Now," Kudo continued, "when I started investigating these were the facts I got from the local police. That young beginner was found dead in an alley from a drug overdose, since apparently he'd been using heavily in college, despite what all his friends say. The manager was found in a public scandal that hit the tabloids like wildfire as being the mistress of a well-known local politician. She was hounded so badly by paparazzi, especially after her third husband left her penniless to save face, that she drowned herself in the bay. And as for the accountant?"

Kudo looked off to the side, his eyes tight as he put his hand on his chin. "Well, it was a tragic accident. It seems that while the family, all five of them, were on their way to church, their brakes gave out, sending them careening down the hill and into a restaurant, killing a table of five who was eating by the front window. To say nothing of all the other injuries that occurred. I understand a promising young gymnast who was hoping to be in the Olympics is now paralyzed from the neck down."

Kazuha stared at him.

And stared at him.

Was he saying? Was he saying? No... He couldn't be. She whirled to Heiji.

"I _couldn't_ tell ya," he said quietly, avidly not looking at Kudo. "Just by bein' my friend, y're already in danger. If ya knew any more, ya'd be in even worse danger."

Kudo nodded. "I didn't tell Ran for the same reasons. That's why she never knew where I was. I saw her as little as possible. If it was ever found out that I was still alive..."

"Why d'ya think whenever Kudo _does_ show up he's always tellin' everyone ta keep quiet 'bout his bein' there?" Heiji stated. "Ahou."

"Ahou!" she shouted right back. This was just... Too much... She'd barely gotten any sleep, this was just too much. "I'm goin' ta bed," she mumbled, realizing for the first time that tears had been flowing down her cheeks. Maybe, when she woke up, this would all be a dream.

She stood, stepped out into the hall, and paused. Leaning against the wall, right behind Kudo, was Ran, holding Conan closely in her lap. The other girl looked up to Kazuha with such sympathy. Kazuha let out a sob and ran to her room.

* * *

Ran gave Conan another squeeze. Conan had to admit to being impressed. Kuroba had come up with a story that was pure Black Organization right off his cuff and succeeded in at least throwing the reality of the situation into Kazuha's face a bit more firmly. Hopefully, with a lot of talking with Ran, Kazuha would be able to cope. Conan let out another guilty sigh. He knew the repercussions of this for Kazuha were going to be strong. This wasn't just hiding Kuroba, it was letting Kazuha in on the secret, even if it wasn't all of it. She may eventually find out even more, and there would be no doubt that she would come back to this incident and question everything again. This was breaking trust on so many levels with the young woman. Conan wasn't sure, if all of this ever came to light, that she would ever trust any of them again. It was one thing to accept that the Black Organization (even if she didn't know it by that name) would kill him and anyone who knew him. Kuroba had handled that beautifully. Kazuha, despite her hot temper, would understand, as Ran had. She wouldn't like it, but she would understand.

But if Kazuha ever found out that they had lied to her about whom was really the Kudo Shinichi staying under her roof, well, Conan wouldn't want to be there when that occurred. Because then, it wouldn't just be that Hattori had kept her in the dark. But also Ran. And that would just hurt even worse.

A hand ran through his hair.

"Ran," he mumbled.

"I know, Shinichi. I know."

They stayed like that for a moment, just being.

Hattori walked into the hall, looking frustrated and guilty. "I think I'll be headin' in ta the station now. I wanna talk ta that damn fool sniper."

"Hattori?" Conan wiggled out of Ran's grip. "We could also use a disposable cell phone."

A black eyebrow raised. "Why?"

Conan scowled. "I'll explain later."

Hattori looked ready to start shouting, but just grabbed an umbrella off the floor and slammed the door behind him.

"Conan-kun?"

"Thanks, tantei-kun," Kuroba muttered from the other side of the wall. "That's for me, right?"

"Yes."

Ran nodded, getting up off the floor. "Have the two of you had a chance to talk yet?"

"No," Conan growled. "We _keep_ getting interrupted."

Running a hand through his hair again, Ran smiled. "Well, Hattori's out now. I'll go talk to Kazuha-chan. That should give the two of you some time."

Conan nodded, going into the living room and kneeling down by Kuroba. The magician gave him a measuring look and shook his head with a smile. "If you don't mind, tantei-kun, could you help me to the sofa. I'm rather tired at the moment."

He nodded, and did his best to help Kuroba back to his feet. The magician walked easily to the couch and eased down, a hand over the wound. "Now then, tantei-kun. What is it you're so desperate to talk about with Kaitou Kid?"

Conan clambered up into a chair, sinking into its softness. There was a question he needed to ask, but he'd get to that in a moment. Hopefully when Kuroba wasn't so on guard.

"Just to let you know, I called Aoko-san for you."

Blink. "Oh?"

"Yes." Conan pulled out his bowtie and with his perfect memory, repeated what he'd said on the message.

"Not bad, not bad, tantei-kun." Kuroba looked at him thoughtfully. "Give or take an intonation, that could very much be something I'd say. I can work with that; make it a running gag to keep her suspicions low. I suppose yet another 'thank you' is in order for all this? And what is it, precisely, that you're aiming for?"

Conan let out a sigh. Trust, apparently, was still going to be an issue. He'd hoped that giving what amounted to his origin story might help, but trust always took time.

"Kur... Kid. I know you don't have any reason to trust any of us. You're surrounded by people who would normally hand you over to Nakamori-keibu without a thought and you have to depend on your acting skills for an extended period of time instead of the short bursts you probably do for research and heists. You can leave at any point. Your hat with all the materials in it is in your room, I sneaked it in there during some of the commotion last night. The door is right there, you can walk out whenever you want."

"But?"

Conan shrugged, ignoring the ache in his shoulders from his early morning activities. "The original reason why I wanted to speak to you, the question on what I should do given that I had evidence that could prove something about you, is now moot. It's gone. So I can't turn you in, can I?"

"All very true. But as I recall, before Hakuba-san decided to roll through like a bullet train, you said there was something you needed to ask me." Kuroba raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Putting his hands behind his head, Conan took a moment to try and word it. "As it stands right now, I am the only one who knows. Ran knows I know something, and she's probably figured out by know that I know who you are. Hattori doesn't even have that. He kept trying to ask me why I was treating this heist of yours differently. Hattori I speak to often, but he's here in Osaka and I'm off in Tokyo. Ran, however, I live with and have made a promise that I won't keep secrets from. She knows I will still keep things from her if they aren't my secrets to tell, but I try to be as honest as possible now that she's in this."

"And how does that have any bearing on little old me?" Kuroba offered a grin.

"I found out who you are in a very unfair manner. So to be fair, I need to ask. You've respected my secret, so I wish to respect yours. Do I have your permission to tell Ran or Hattori or both?"

Kuroba's jaw dropped.

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Nice little cliffhanger. Heiji's lack of sleep was fun to write, as was Hakuba's making an ass of himself.

Seriously, Hakuba is very hard to pin down (as we keep complaining). Fanfiction has a very large variety of interpretations of him that don't agree, and even in the manga, when he shows up, we don't really see much of his character. Is he really on par with Kid/Kudo/Hattori? He's clearly very good but is he up to those standards? He's been around Nakamori for a while and is clearly convinced he's the only one allowed to capture Kid, so does that make him narrow-minded on occasion? Or not? Trying to create a personality that will agree with so many interpretations when there's so little source material is rather a daunting task.

Enough Hakuba-whining.

So, did you notice? Did you notice? Dear little Conan-kun was very good at keeping Hakuba's attention away from "Kudo", wasn't he? Poor Hakuba just kept getting bounced around in so many directions he didn't have time to think or notice anything. Of course, Kaito would play Kudo perfectly to help befuddle matters.

Oh, and for those of you who seem to have our posting down to the usual hour, we regret being a few hours late. Blame it on the mowing/blowing of leaves we had to do in our yard. Front hill = pain to mow (hill) Back yard = big and time-consuming. To say we were a little numb when we came in is something of an understatement.

Next chapter: Some real-honest-to-goodness investigating.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part Ten**

Nakamori and Mouri - or Naka and Mouri as someone started calling them - did not go well together.

It was noon, and Hakuba snitched a sandwich from a pile someone had gone out to get and watched the two butt heads - figuratively and literally - over what had happened last night. Mouri was haranguing about being tied up _by his pants_ and the indignity of it and the clear negligence of Nakamori and his team to think to have both towers of the Umeda Sky Building covered - as his own brilliance had made him deduce - and demanding restitution blah, blah, blah. Nakamori, by contrast, was more than fed up that the private eye was still there and lecturing; _he_ was trying to work out the details of the caper, overseeing the reverse engineering of the cherry blossom curtain and inventorying personnel to see what uniform was stolen to get Kid so close to the jewel and so on, that he'd finally had enough and the Task Force inspector had erupted into a long string of particularly violent curses and threats that Mouri shut the +_)(*&^%$#!~ up and get the +_)(*&^%$#!~ away from him, etc, etc.

Nobody stood closer than ten feet from the two men.

Frustrated, Hakuba stood and left, still munching on his lunch, and went down a floor or two to where the heist had actually occurred. Uniforms were still sweeping up the flowers; many had been stomped into the carpet - another count of property damage against Kid - and more than a few were wondering out loud if they could filch some to take home and make jams with their wives and kids. The blonde walked over to the display case, empty of course, and stared at it in accusation.

Good _grief;_ how could he have made such an ass of himself? Hakuba flushed at the very thought of it, pulling at Kudo's face and having the entire household throw him out for his overzealous actions. The entire reason he never overtly went after Kuroba was simply _because_ there was no physical evidence; the half-blood detective hadn't realized how desperate he was to prove himself right until that morning, bursting into Toyama's house and making such ludicrous accusations.

He put a hand to his head, trying to stave off a headache. It had fit together so perfectly! Hattori an accomplice to the heist, hiding an injured Kid, Kid disguised as the legendary Kudo Shinichi. Nirvana had been laid at his feet and then brutally snatched away.

It was all so plausible it made his head hurt. Hattori, being Kudo's best friend, would of course offer the other teen sanctuary, and everything after was just the natural reaction of... of...

His head snapped up. What was the reclusive Kudo doing in Osaka, anyway? Why was he so close to Toyama's house? A puzzle, one the blonde couldn't find an immediate answer to. The great detective hadn't been seen in ages, going from being the forefront of the news to randomly showing up in Osaka during a Kaitou Kid heist. Kudo even failed to show to events he was personally invited to, so why suddenly make an appearance? What did Hattori and the others know about it?

No, it wasn't his business; it was an invasion of privacy. But if it couldn't be explained...

Hakuba allowed himself to growl under his breath and spin around. He had better things to ponder - when the jewel would be returned, for starters.

* * *

"Hattori-kun," a secretary said when she saw the teen, "ya look terrible."

"You try bein' up fer over twenty-four hours," Heiji growled.

"Oh, I see. Do ya want coffee?"

The Detective of the West made a face. "I've had too much coffee as 't is. Got any real food?"

It was a trick question. It was well known amongst Osaka Police that the precinct _lived_ off of instant ramen, stale donuts, and vending machine food. The secretary made a helpless face of sympathy. "I'll see if'n I can find something," she offered, getting up.

Perfect. Heiji waited a moment before blowing by her desk and into the back rooms, where interrogation and holding was. He saw a few faces of the Task Force, but their presence was minimal, as he'd expected. The majority of the detail would still be at Umeda, collecting evidence and reverse engineering the heist for their files and reports. Heiji already knew how almost everything of the heist was done; he didn't need to go back to the building. No, what _he_ wanted was information of a different sort.

"Hey, Yamano-han," he called out, catching the arm of the tech supervisor. "Couldja do me a favor? Has anyone asked ya ta compile the audio and video footage of last night's heist?"

"Have they?" the roguish looking man asked, rolling his eyes. "That damn Nakamori's callin' me every ten minutes demandin' why I don't have it yet."

Heiji nodded, expecting that. "Ya think I can sneak a peak before ya send it over?"

"Fer the boss's son? Anything," he said brightly, roughly batting the teen detective on the shoulder before disappearing around a corner. Heiji grimaced, _hating_ it whenever someone referred to him as his father's son. He'd worked hard to garner his own reputation, fought to break away from his stone-cold father's image and unyielding attitude, but at the station it would likely never change. He was his father's son, and few indeed would ever see him as anything else.

Still in a foul mood, he kicked at a vending machine to give him a candy bar, ripping it open with his teeth before taking a huge bite out of it. The sugar helped a little, and he threw the wrapper away and stopped off at the men's room to clean up and look remotely presentable. Sloshing water on his face and rubbing it into his hair, he took in his haggard appearance in the mirror. He really did look like hell; the lack of sleep was carving dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was an unexpected mess.

Sighing, he pulled out a comb from his jacket pocket and dug it through his hair, washing his face again and rubbing his eyes. At least now he looked presentable. He was going to sleep twenty hours when he got back to Kazuha's. After he'd beaten Kid to a pulp.

Now, to find out what the _hell_ had happened last night.

His first step was lockup, beeline-ing to the sniper he'd identified last night, the one who'd fired the fateful shot.

"Yo!" he called out brightly.

"Augh, you again," the sniper groaned. Out of his professional gear, Heiji found a man in his forties, thinning red hair on the top with a poorly done brush-over, and deep-set eyes with thin glasses. "I've never seen a teenager make fools out of so many professionals. What training do you have?"

"Kendo," he offered.

"Figures," the older man scoffed.

"Ya know why 'm here," Heiji offered, not bothering with further pleasantries.

"Same as everyone else," the sniper replied. "I'll tell you what I told everyone else - not that anyone believes me. Boss's orders was hold fire until a specific series of beeps came over the headset: F-I-R-E in Morse Code. It came over my headset, I took aim and Kid jumped too quick for me to follow. I'll tell you, I've never seen a man move that fast - reminds me of my daughter; she's a track star and holds the record for the five hundred meter dash in her school. With the kid in his arms I aimed for the far elbow and fired. Kid jumped down with the kid still in his arms and I waited for another order. Four minutes later you arrived mad as hell and took everyone into custody."

Heiji nodded, expecting about as much. "What kind o' headset didja use? Same as th' rest?"

The balding sniper blinked. "No accusations? No pissy tirades? Boy, I like you even more. We all were given the privilege to use preferred equipment. I had a digital earpiece and mike combo. Store bought but striped of its original programming and recoded for my use. The client broadcast on a standard channel. I can give you the specs, if you want."

"I do," Heiji replied, pulling out a notepad and writing it all down. Frowning, he looked up afterward and asked, "Anythin' unusual 'bout the transmission?"

"Only that it came at all. Have you met the client? Pansy, but a sweet pansy. He made it clear he didn't want any bloodshed, we were just for show."

Heiji nodded. "Alright. Thanks."

"You think you can get me out of here?" the sniper asked.

"Dunno," Heiji answered honestly. "But after hearin' yer story, I'm pretty sure I figured out part o' what happened."

The sniper nodded and Heiji ran a hand through his dark hair, rolling his head and trying to pop the kinks out. His stomach was rumbling, but he patiently ignored it, because it reminded him that he was having dinner with his _parents_ and he didn't relish what that would entail. He was ducking into hallways as it was to avoid his father.

"Yo, Yamano-han!" he called out, spying his next stop.

"No I do _not_ have'em ready!" the tech guy shouted, turning around to reveal that he was growling into the phone. "Maybe if ya stopped _callin'_ me every ten seconds I'd get somethin' _done_!" He yanked the phone away from his ear and snapped it shut with a flourish. His roguish face turned and spied Heiji. "Ah! Y're here, good. I jus' finished."

The Detective of the West grinned. "I appreciate this," he said with sincerity.

"Hey, a body gets tired of bein' sworn at every couple of seconds. I figure it's payback fer the disrespect."

"Ha!" Heiji gave his colleague a pat on the back before following the handsome tech down the hall to a room.

"'s all set, on four DVDs an' two audio tapes. Some of the snipers used analogue, so it ain't all there, but as much as I could find."

"Good."

"Hattori-kun," Yamano said quickly, nervousness in his voice. "Yer dad know y're here?"

"I hope not," Heiji said, rolling his eyes and knowing what was next.

"'s just... I'm not th' only one Nakamori's callin'. If Hattori-han asks, I can't lie ta him and... well..."

Heiji nodded. "I'll be quick," he said, gritting his teeth.

Once in the room, he shut and locked the door, knowing it would piss off his father but too tired to care. He started with the audio first; that was the more important of the two. The video wouldn't give him what he needed unless the theory he was thinking of needed close range interference.

He pulled out his notepad to jot down what he needed. An hour later he'd filled out three of his little pages and not much else. It both was and wasn't what he expected. The important file he wanted wasn't there; he'd expected as much and only supported his theory of outside interference. There were some interesting noises on the audio; some points for him to ask Yamano to investigate further, but otherwise nothing of merit. Cursing, he leaned back and put his hands behind his head. God, he was tired; he would probably have this cracked if he was actually awake...

The door bursting open startled him out of his half doze, and he was startled enough to topple out of his chair. So much for locking-

"Heiji."

He froze.

"Dad."

Heiji stumbled to get up quickly, his legs inadvertently kicking the chair and the headset tugging around his neck, nearly choking him. Growling in his chest and cursing that he was audible, he finally managed to yank the wire off his neck and toss it vaguely to the table, flipping his memo pad closed and stuffing it in his pocket. He stared at his father, tall and imposing, and saw the sheepish form of Yamano looking down.

"Ya are aware," his father said slowly, his tone deceptively light - almost menacing, "that Inspector Nakamori has been asking for those records for the last hour and a half?"

The Detective of the West glanced at the clock and mentally cursed.

"This department, no matter the opinion, will always make every effort ta be cooperative ta fellow members of law enforcement. Given th' public status o' this... caper... in particular, an' the international connections that follow it, one would've thought that my son, of all people, would understand how necessary cooperation would be."

It was everything in Heiji's power to keep his jaw wired shut. There was a litany of things he wanted to say, but he knew from experience to keep it under his hat for now. Instead, he said,

"I'm... I'm sorry fer the inconvenience." He deliberately shifted his gaze to Yamano. "'m done, though, ya can take it," he said slowly, giving the tech an out for this increasingly tense conversation.

After a guilty glance, Yamano quickly gathered what he needed and moved to depart.

"Wait, Yamano," his father commanded, and the roguish tech froze on the spot.

"Heiji," his father continued, an impassive stare on his face. _That_ was what Heiji hated the most: the impassive, business attitude that pervaded _everything_ the old man did. "I know your mind. You have ideas. Give me your notebook."

... What?

"... What?"

"Give me your notebook."

In Heiji's defense, he hadn't slept in almost thirty-six hours, hadn't eaten anything substantial in over twelve, and had been on an emotional rollercoaster for almost as long. It was understandable, in retrospect, for him to react as he did.

Heiji saw red.

"Ya goddamn crotchety old _bastard_!" he shouted. "Ya'd never ask fer the notebook of any of the men 'n this building, it's an insult!" He stomped forward, startling Yamano and making him step back, but his father stood his ground, the living embodiment of stone. "But ya ask it of _me?_ Bad enough ya won't let me do half of what I need ta do ta solve a case, makin' me pull in favors and go under th' radar that I _know_ ya hate, but now that ya've perpetuated yer nontrust of me ya go an' ask fer my _notebook_? Screw you, ya bastard!"

Heiji stormed past him, past Yamano, furious. He'd almost made it to the door when,

"Heiji."

And he _knew_ he had to capitulate before something even _worse_ happened. Growling, he ripped the memo pad out of his pocket and flipped over to his three pages of notes on the audio, tearing them out violently and crumbling them in his fist before throwing it onto the floor in his father's general direction.

"Here," he growled.

Storming out into the precinct room, he saw that more than a few people had been listening in, and were now trying to look busy. Another reason why he would always be his father's son instead of his own man. God, he hated the situation he was in.

Face black as last night's thunderclouds, he stomped out into the midday sunshine and cursed that it was so bright outside.

* * *

It was almost two when he finally came home (re: Kazuha's house), and if it wasn't for the adrenaline still pumping in his system at the _gall_ of his father, Heiji was certain he would have passed out from exhaustion. He all but fell out of his shoes and stubbed his toe when he stepped onto the hall, cursing loudly and creatively.

"Hattori-kun?" Ran stepped out of the kitchen, apron around her waist and a towel in her hands. "Are you alright? You missed lunch..."

Quite a few curses were still falling out of his mouth, but he finally was able to still his mind enough to process her question and answer in turn. "'m as well as can be expected, Nee-chan. How's Kudo?"

"They're both asleep," Ran offered. "The exhaustion finally wore them both out, especially Shinichi."

Envy...

Heiji shook his head and worked his way to the back bedroom, sliding open the door long enough to toss the disposable cell onto Kid's bed before closing the door again. Back in the kitchen, he eyed the empty plates and felt his mouth water. "Nee-chan, if I ask nice enough, 're there any leftovers?"

Ran giggled slightly, running a hand through her hair, before opening the fridge and pulling out a plate of sandwiches. "Kazuha-chan made them," she offered subtly. Heiji decided he'd process that later; hunger had taken over his intellectual side, and he attacked the plate like one imagined a caveman might. The food helped enormously, filling his stomach and giving him his fourth wind (or was it his fifth?). It also lightened his mood considerably, and for a little while he forgot how exhausted he was. When he was done, he leaned back and gave a great sigh of satisfaction.

"Gift from th' gods," he breathed, content for the first time in what felt like forever.

Ran smiled softly, taking the plate from him. "Make sure you tell Kazuha-chan that."

"Where is she?" Heiji asked, realizing how quiet the house was.

"I sent her out to buy food," Kudo's girl responded, sitting across from him after setting the plate in the sink for later cleaning. "The situation here was pressing her a little, so I thought some time outside would do her good. She's still very mad at you, you know."

Heiji groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. There were too many problems on his plate as it was...

"May I make a suggestion?" Ran asked from beyond his hands.

"I'll take anythin' at this point," Heiji muttered, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table, resting his head on the palm of a hand.

"Just... just hold her," she said softly.

Heiji bristled. "Me? Hold _Kazuha_?" What a ludicrous thought! Even if it did sound nice... reeeeeal nice... He shook his head. "Thanks fer th' advice, Nee-chan, but I know how ta handle Kazuha."

Ran gave a knowing smile, but said nothing.

Heiji looked up, realizing something. "Nee-chan, you were at the heist, right? Ya said somethin' about monitorin' the security feeds an' the radio transmissions?"

The karate practitioner blinked, surprised at the change in topic. "Yes, why?"

"Couldja hear the sniper transmissions? All of them?"

"I don't... let me check the laptop. Oh, I hope I didn't leave it behind. I was so frantic last night..." Ran got up and disappeared down the hall. Heiji wanted to follow but didn't have the energy to do so. He sat at the table, listless, drifting and fighting the drift desperately, trying to hold onto the thought that had struck him.

"Here," Ran said, breaking his doze and opening the lid of the laptop. Heiji squinted at the brightness of the screen, his eyes burning and demanding to remain closed. "Let's see, I couldn't figure out how to record what I was hearing," she said quickly, an embarrassed flush blossoming on her cheeks, "but I did take notes when I could. The security cameras-"

"I'm not lookin' fer the security cameras," Heiji said quickly, struggling to focus. "I'm interested in whether 'r not ya could hear the sniper static. There wuz a total o' six snipers on th' roof. Couldja hear all six?"

Ran poked through her documentation for a moment before leaning back and closing her eyes, a finger rubbing between her eyebrows. "They didn't talk much," she muttered to herself, "the heist itself was more interesting. But there was... ah!" Ran looked up and went back to her laptop. "They did all give radio confirmation that everything was working ten minutes before the heist started. Here, yes, all six called in. Hm..." She leaned back again, her face furrowed in thought. "I'm not an expert, but there was one thing that was strange. One of the snipers, there was a faint clicking sound before he checked in. It might have been him loading his weapon but..."

"Nee-chan," Heiji said brightly, his mind briefly coming awake as his theory was confirmed, "Y're an angel!" Quickly, he whipped out his cell phone and called the station. "Yo, Yamano-han, 'm I still an ass at th' precinct?"

"Ah-"

"Good, do me a favor, will ya? Th' sniper that fired, check his radio log; specifically his time checks. Th' last one'll be the most interestin' if I'm right. When y're done with that, call Yukimura an' have'm check cold cases fer other cases with little radio ticks like what ya find. Tell'm ta go back at 'bout five years, th' tech wasn't good enough before that. Then call me, not my old man, with the results, 'kay?"

"Hattori-kun-"

"Thanks, see ya!"

Heiji snapped his phone closed and breathed a sigh of relief. At last, progress.

"Nee-chan," he said, looking at the confused girl in front of him. "'m havin' dinner with the parents tonight, an' I'm expectin' World War III. Can I sleep on the couch 'til Kazuha comes home an' throws me out? If Kudo wakes up tell'm I got an idea an' I'm followin' it."

Ran nodded quickly, getting up. "I'll fetch you a blanket."

"Don't bother, Kazuha'll probably charge me rent."

Ran smirked slightly and got the blanket anyway. Heiji was already fast asleep when she came in, and she gently tucked him in, noting the time and reminding herself to ask her friend when they should wake him.

* * *

Aoko glared at her phone. Again.

"Stupid Kaito," she growled under her breath, playing the message for the umpteenth time. "Kidnapped my ass. I'll kill him." Leave it to _Kaito_ to tease about being kidnapped by his new relatives. He was probably having the time of his life, he sounded really excited in the message, and just wanted to rub her face in it.

Looking up, Aoko took in her surroundings: the hotel lobby. She's been waiting since noon for her father to show up. She'd heard about the heist on the news, and the fact that he hadn't called was testament enough to know that he was busy, and she could only imagine what he was going through. He'd called to say he'd try to break away for lunch, but it was now past four, and there was no sign of him.

She sighed. Kaitou Kid had stolen her father again, and she didn't even have Kaito to distract her. She was tempted to call her new friend Ran, but the karate practitioner was busy with friends of her own; she didn't want to bother her with her problems. Growling, she threw her phone violently into her purse and yanked it over her shoulder, stomping up to the main desk.

"Excuse me," she said in as bright a voice as she could manage. "Are there any tours this afternoon that I could go on?" She would _not_ have her Golden Week ruined. Not by her father, not by Kaitou Kid, and _definitely_ not by Kaito.

"Let me check," the receptionist said brightly, typing on her computer. The uniformed girl searched for a few minutes before looking back up. "There's a bus tour leaving from the station at five. It's a sunset tour that goes... oh, it goes up to the Umeda Sky Building. I doubt they're open after what happened last night."

Aoko clenched her fists, but kept on smiling.

Her purse vibrating surprised her, and she quickly apologized to the receptionist before pulling it out and looking at the number. It wasn't one she was familiar with, and so she picked it up. "Hello? Nakamori Aoko speaking," she said softly.

"Yo! Aoko!"

Rage.

"Kuroba Kaito, I'm going to _kill you_!" she shouted into the receiver at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed across the entire lobby, and she blushed bright red when she realized how many heads she'd just turned. Scandalized, she bowed to the receptionist quickly before power walking to the nearest elevator. "Kuroba Kaito, I'm going to kill you," she hissed, waiting for the doors to ding open.

"You already blew out my eardrums," he whined, and Aoko could picture the other teen rubbing a finger in his ear to clear out the ringing, "what more could you do?"

"I could string you up by your-"

"Uweh, never mind, I'm not sure I want to know," Kaito said quickly.

"Where are you?" she demanded.

"Right now? I'm on a roof."

"That doesn't help at all!"

"Sorry, sorry," Kaito said glibly at the other end. "I have temporary amnesty from my darling relatives. They actually left me alone for more than five seconds, so I snuck out before they decided to eviscerate me."

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

"Eh? Didn't you get my message this morning?"

"You mean that line of bull about handcuffs and straightjackets?"

"It wasn't bull!" Kaito said in a light, defensive tone. "They really did tie me up. They figured because I was a magician that I was also an escape artist. You wouldn't _believe_ the stretching I had to do to get out of the straight jacket. And the handcuffs!"

Aoko rolled her eyes. "Well, now that you're free-"

"I'm not free, Aoko. I said I was on the roof, I didn't say I was free. See, they've got these guard dogs, too."

"Kaitooooooooooo...!" Aoko put a hand to her forehead to forestall a headache.

"No, I'm serious! There're four of them. One is this big, dark dog that barks at me whenever he gets the chance, and two girls that just sort of stand at the door to my room and stare - one'll lick my hand but the other always growls and tries to bite. The biggest problem is actually the smallest, tiny little mutt that just _never_ leaves my side and yips whenever I go anywhere. All four of them are sitting in the yard glaring at me right now. Really!"

It was the "Really!" that made it all so fake to Aoko, and the energy just sapped out of her. "Kaito, why don't you just admit that you're having too good a time?" she asked.

"... because I'm not," Kaito said, all the light and teasing tones gone from his voice. "I really am stuck here, and circumstances prevent me from leaving just yet. It doesn't help that I'm a klutz, too. I fell down the stairs last night and have all the bruises to prove it. Everybody's hovering and I'm on the roof to get away from it all. I'm making light of it because I think I'll go crazy if I don't."

A tear slid down Aoko's face and she was surprised when it did. She wiped at it furiously and cursed herself for being touched by Kaito's voice, for feeling sympathy. "Then just tell me were you are so I can stage a prison break."

The laughter that erupted from the other end of the phone surprised her, and it continued for so long she wasn't sure if Kaito really _had_ gone crazy.

"Aoko, the picture you put in my head just now is worth it!"

"Worth what? Kaito?"

Finally, the laughter died down to giggles, to humphs, to finally a modicum of control. "Ha, Aoko, thanks, I needed that. Look, the minute I can sneak out I will - and you'll be my first stop, okay? And as a thank you for the kindness, I'll be sure to tell you about the brainwashing."

Aoko blinked. "Brainwashing?"

But Kaito had already hung up.

She looked at the phone for a long time, not completely sure what had just happened. Frowning, she entered her hotel room to another surprise.

"Ah! Aoko, I was sure I'd missed you!"

"... Dad?"

She was engulfed in a hug. "Ugh, finally, a friendly face. I'm so glad you came! I'm sorry it took so long to get back, those shitheads were trying to run me in goddamn circles." The hug tightened, and Aoko was surprised to find her feet lifting off the ground slightly. That hadn't happened since middle school. She was engulfed in the sweet smell of pipe smoke, her cheek was tickled with the coarse hair that she'd inherited, and she could hear the relieved heartbeat of her father, glad that his fight to come back to her was worth it.

She found another tear slide down her cheek, and she wondered dimly if she was due to make her so emotional. Ultimately, she decided she didn't care, and she hugged her father back, drinking in his scent and glad, deeply glad, that her day wasn't ruined. She'd had a call from Kaito. She had her father in her arms.

What more could she want?

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Bleh, not the best chapter, but after all the drama for the last - what, five parts? - we needed a chapter that took a break from it all before it became melodrama. Lots of investigation stuff in this chapter, a few reflections here and there, and then the drama with Hattori and his father appeared. (face palm) can't get away from the emotional roller coaster, I guess. At least Hattori finally is getting some sleep.

Kaito, as always, was fun to write; he's just so teasing, and he has this natural ability to cheer everyone up (even Hattori if the poor kid ever LET him).

Several of you made comments on how Hakuba really got the short end of the stick last chaper. The two of us have gone back and forth repeatedly on Hakuba and how to portray him. It's why we complain about him so much. Is he as smart as Shincihi/Kaito/Heiji? Or is he too focused to really stand back and see the big picture? You'll notice last chapter that Hakuba barely had two seconds to look around since Conan, Ran, and "Shinichi" were all diverting his attention, to say nothing of the arctic blasts from Heiji and Kazuha. If Hakuba had stuck around, he probably would have started to notice things that would lead him down a road we don't think he's really ready for. Hakuba needs to loosen up and look at what sort of damage would happen if he finally put Kaito behind bars, but right now he can't see that because he's spending a lot of energy in just catching and not what's beyond. And since he's not ready, he needed to leave. Fast.

You'll notice that when secrets are divulged, not all of them are. We're doing that on purpose. Kazuha knows that there's a "Them" out there, not that Shinichi is Conan. Hakuba doesn't learn anything about Shinichi, and still has no proof for Kaito=Kid. Conan knows who Kaito is, but hasn't said anything to Ran and Heiji. These are deep secrets. Many fanfics, when someone finds out, they get the whole thing. That doens't seem likely. Conan, in particular, has been holding on to these secrets for so long that he's not just going to let them go easily. Ran finding out was an accident. Kaito getting the story was to make the thief feel safe while surrounded by detectives. Kazuha only gets the bit that's pertinent to her because the rest is just so fantastic it's unbelievable.

At least, that's how we view things.

Next chapter: Kaito answer's Conan's question.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part Eleven**

Hakuba went through the articles again. Ever since he'd calmed down after his disastrous encounter with Kudo Shinichi at Toyama's home the previous day, he'd been over his conclusions and evidence, trying to ascertain where he'd gone wrong. He revisited his sense that Hattori being so crude during the heist was an indication that he was hiding something. He reviewed the voice he'd heard down the hall and tried to pinpoint why he was so certain it was Kaitou Kid. He tried to find the logical thoughts that had made him pull at Kudo's face. And he wondered why something _still_ didn't feel right about the entire mess.

There were questions that Hakuba couldn't exactly go back and ask after his previous reprehensible behavior. But why was Kudo so close to Toyama's house in the pouring rain? Why was he out in the rain so much that he'd gotten ill and how badly ill was he to have had all of them awake and helping him throughout the night? What was Kudo even doing in Osaka, especially since _no one_ could ever seem to contact him, find him, or had even seen him in such a long time?

But Hakuba couldn't go and ask those questions. He'd never get past the street, no doubt Hattori and Toyama would see that he never even made it to the property, let alone inside to ask his questions. So he'd gone back over things. Spread across his hotel room were articles about Kudo Shinichi, his time as the "Savior of the Police" as he became the rising young star of Tokyo, the Detective of the East. But the last article about him was solving a murder on a roller coaster, and then absolutely nothing. It was like Kudo had disappeared from the face of the earth. But if some of the things he'd overheard Aoko talk about with Mouri was any indication, Kudo had kept in contact with at least his girlfriend, though almost no one else.

Hakuba couldn't find out much more about the sleuth without starting to inspect Kudo's circle of friends to find out what he was like. But having never met Kudo before, how could Hakuba be certain that the person he'd met wasn't Kaitou Kid in disguise?

And the reason why his mind refused to let go of that supposition had to do with how eerily similar Kudo and Kuroba were. It was true that the person he'd seen had looked like Kudo in every detail, but that meant that with messier hair and a different body posture, he could have been Kuroba in every detail as well. Even their _voices_ were the same, though Kudo's seemed to bear pure confidence and hard-won experience while Kuroba's was cocky and playful. And it was that confidence that had reminded Hakuba so much of Kaitou Kid.

For a brief time, Hakuba wondered if his theory of Kuroba being Kid was wrong and that Kudo was really the Moonlight Magician. But those thoughts were cast aside when he'd come across several articles recounting how Kudo had faced off with Kid at a clock tower.

The encounter at the Toyama home continued to bother Hakuba. Unanswered questions. How convenient that Kudo had never touched Hakuba so that he could use it as a DNA sample. But Kid was always disguised as someone for a few hours at most. Certainly this marathon of performing as Kudo would wear him out? Wouldn't the others notice? Especially since Kid had been shot.

With a sigh, Hakuba went through the articles again.

* * *

Conan sat down on the phone book on the chair so that he was more level with the table. Ran was beside him, Kazuha across from him, and Kuroba between Ran and Kazuha. Dinner was looking scrumptious, but then, that wasn't a surprise given that Ran had cooked it. They had just started in however, when Ran's cell rang.

"Yes?" she answered.

Conan went back to enjoying his food immensely, and from the corner of his eye, it seemed Kuroba was loving the food, given the way he was _almost_ stuffing his face. So far, the day had been quiet, for which Conan was infinitely grateful. After the previous day with Hakuba storming in, Hattori and Kazuha sniping barbs at one another, and all the talking he'd done with Ran when they'd had a moment about the fact that _yes_ him getting shot was a possibility and all that it stirred up as a result... well, quiet was a very welcome change of pace.

Granted, his sleep schedule was still torn to hell. Conan had maybe four hours of sleep the previous night and he'd tried to snag a couple of hours during the day to help make up for it so he could reestablish a more normal sleep pattern.

Ran gave a great sigh as she hung up.

"Ran?" Kuroba asked, in a perfect imitation of what Conan himself had just been about to do. (Conan tried not to scowl. It was a part to be played, nothing more...)

She shook her head, with a tired sigh. "Sorry," she said. "That was the station. Apparently one of the younger officers said he'd take my father out for a drink and lost him between bars."

Conan blinked. It had been lightning fast, but Kuroba had given him a look. It didn't take much for the truncated detective to realize that this was a chance to get Kazuha out of the house so that things could be talked about freely.

Ran let out another sigh. "I'm going to have to go out and look for him and make sure he hasn't found a geisha who will probably start charging him for her time."

"I'll go with ya," Kazuha agreed. "We can probably find'm faster together."

Conan immediately cheered. "Yay! I get to change Shinichi-nii-chan's bandages all by myself!"

Blinking, Ran looked down to him and he made a small twist of his finger, a subtle cue the two of them had created for her to play along with whatever he was doing.

"Conan-kun," she replied, an eyebrow raised, "you're too young to..."

"It's okay, Ran," Kuroba said with a small smile, acting the part of Conan's true identity perfectly. "I'm sure I can change them myself."

"No ya can't," Kazuha frowned. "You can't reach th' one in back 'n' Conan-kun-"

Conan can cut her off with childish enthusiasm, "I can do it! I can do it!" _I've disarmed bombs, dug out bullets without marking the surrounding area, and administered first aid to a lot of victims. I sure as _hell_ can do it, but that's not the point_.

Ran looked back and forth between Kuroba and Conan.

"Tell ya what," smiled Kazuha, "I can go lookin' myself. Probably faster too. You oughtta take care o' yer boys here."

"Thank you, Kazuha-chan."

"No problem." Dinner continued, though for Kazuha at a faster pace. As Conan helped Kuroba clear the dishes, Ran wished Kazuha luck.

With Kazuha gone, Kuroba dropped his act and put on his fabled Poker Face, looking more like Kaitou Kid than Kudo Shinichi or Kuroba Kaito at the moment.

"So, tantei-kun. Think you can get tantei-han over real fast?"

Conan was already sending a text to Hattori.

"Kid-san?" Ran stood at the door. "If Hattori-kun is coming over, perhaps I really _should_ change your bandages now."

"Sure thing," Kuroba hesitated, "tantei-chan."

Conan didn't bother to hide his scowl. Instead he just kicked the damn thief in the leg for being so familiar with _his_ Ran.

* * *

They sat in the living room, Hattori having come over with extreme speed. Shinichi suspected things still weren't quite going well with his father, but it wasn't Shinichi's place to say.

"So," Kid smiled. After his bandages had been changed, he'd gone upstairs and gotten his monocle and hat, both of which, Shinichi suspected, were acting almost like a security blanket, given how he was once more using them to hid his face, just like when he was out running circles around Inspector Nakamori. "Tantei-kun, tantei-han, tantei-chan," he greeted all of them. Shinichi felt the urge to kick the thief again, but resisted it. He was too far away, in any case.

"Once, there was a Phantom Thief called Kaitou Kid. By day he was a world-renowned magician; by night, a white shadow that could steal anything and mystify anyone. He loved his wife very much and doted on their son, who knew nothing of his father's night life."

Shinichi listened intently, trying not to smirk as Kid stole the same device for telling his story that the minimized sleuth had used to tell his own tale.

"One day, he was hired to find a jewel called Pandora. Not much was known about the gem other than three curious facts. Pandora was a gem within another gem; it shined red under the moon's gentle beams; and as for the third, we'll get to that in a minute. Now this fantastic Kaitou Kid, somewhere along the way, realized that the people who wanted this jewel weren't people. They were animals, who would kill anyone to get their hands on the Pandora and its legend."

Hattori and Ran sat up straighter and Shinichi leaned forward. That sounded eerily similar to his own tale of cruel monsters in black.

"So this wondrous thief decided to stop working for them. In fact, he took it a step further. He kept stealing jewels that matched with Pandora's characteristics and returning them, ensuring that their security was increased.

"But then, one day, the son that Kaitou Kid so doted on, the son that was following in his father's footsteps in becoming a magician, came home. Both he and his mother were told that his father had died on stage."

Ran sucked in a breath beside him. Shinichi stole a glance at her and nodded to himself. She'd just figured out who Kaitou Kid was. She glanced at him, and he nodded, confirming what she had just put together.

"Oh!" she half-sobbed, half-hiccuped. "Oh..."

Kid said nothing, his face still obscured, but his hands were moving. Three doves had appeared and Shinichi recognized them at once as the doves that had been at the Budokan because one settled on Kid's shoulder, another ghosted over to Ran's shoulder and the third landed on Shinichi's head, nipping affectionately at his hair. No doubt a move to expend some of the nervous energy Kid _had_ to have in sharing this. Shinichi himself had buried his nerves when he'd told his story, because he didn't know what else to do.

"From that time all the way up until I discovered a secret room in my own home, I never knew my dad was a thief. I had no idea what to do about that. Oh, sure, I was a Kaitou Kid fan, so's my mother. But I never _knew_. I couldn't process that my father was a thief. And then I saw the news about Kaitou Kid going to steal some gem." Kid shrugged, his dove hopping into his hands where he started stroking the feathers. "I didn't think. I acted. And I've kept on going ever since. If I can draw my dad's killers into the open, Inspector Nakamori can go to town with them. If I find Pandora before they do, I'm going to smash it into little pieces. I don't care how fantastic its legend is, _nothing_ is worth the price that people are paying for that gem."

Shinichi nodded, completely agreeing that nothing was worth the price of having to take someone else's life. Not like that. However... "What is Pandora's third property?"

Kid shrugged almost playfully. "Something that usually falls into the realms of fiction. But they think it's real enough. Whether I believe it or not, the fact that they do means I'll keep going, no matter how crazy it sounds."

"Oh 'nough preamble," Hattori growled. "What's the third identifyin' feature?"

"Why, an elixir made from Pandora grants immortality."

Three sets of jaws dropped.

Then Hattori and Ran and Kid started staring at him.

He glared at the three of them. "What?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"Tantei-kun," Kaitou Kid grinned, "I do believe you might have stumbled across immortality. Or at least, some form of approximation."

Oh.

...Oh.

Shinichi scowled at them. "The person who made the damn drug was a _poison_ expert. _Not_ someone researching for immortality."

Ran and Hattori looked away and Kid just shrugged again. "Merely observing interesting coincidences."

"How about finishing your story before we start fielding questions?" Shinichi grunted, not really wanting to think of the implications of that quite yet.

"There's not much else to tell, Kudo," Kid replied, or rather Kuroba. The hat was pulled down further, until it covered his face. With only the briefest of hesitations, the hat came off entirely. "Hattori-kun. Kudo. Ran-san. We've met before. I'm Kuroba Kaito. It's good to see you again."

And sitting there, with the messy hair and carefree smile, Kuroba Kaito did indeed sit.

* * *

Shinichi sat back, giving Ran and Hattori time to digest everything. They had been talking _late_. It was pushing on nine o'clock when Kazuha had shoved in a stumbling Kogoro, who was too inebriated and covered with kisses on his cheek to even look and see Kuroba (who had flattened his hair in the time it took Kazuha to turn her keys) as Ran hurried over to help Kazuha get him to bed.

They had talked about a wide variety of topics. Whether Kuroba's enemies where the same as the Black Organization or not (everyone was still undecided... It might be a small splitter or faction or completely unrelated entities...), where they should go from here (Kuroba steadfastly refused to let them participate in his heists and Shinichi refused to let a chance to catch someone who might be Black Organization slip away and Hattori refused to work with Kid on principal at the moment and Ran kept trying to play mediator), how much Kazuha should know (Shinichi didn't think it was his call to make, Hattori wanted her to stay OUT of it, Ran wanted to let her know everything and Kuroba was already having difficulty with three new people knowing who he was...), and growling at Hattori who kept calling Kuroba "Kid".

Ultimately they got nowhere, not that Shinichi had really been expecting open trust on both sides. There were too many revelations that required time to settle and adjust to. Kuroba was no doubt very ticklish about his secrets being displayed to so many people at once and Shinichi couldn't blame him. He _hated_ it whenever he needed to spill his secret to someone.

In some ways, Shinichi was at an unfair advantage over everyone. He'd known who Kuroba was since that case at the Budokan over the winter and had had the time to adjust. He'd thought out possible scenarios of still opposing Kuroba and working together and (as much as he didn't particularly feel like admitting it) working together seemed the better option. But Hattori and Kuroba wouldn't come to that conclusion immediately. They needed to think and look over the details just as Shinichi had. Ran was just wonderful and had been alone so long that her instinct was always to work together on things, but she also needed time to get used to the idea of possibly breaking the law.

It was something Shinichi cringed at. He was such an advocate of one truth and justice and letting the law handle things that he wondered if his decision to help Kuroba, be it active involvement or just his silence, wasn't compromising himself in some way. But he'd been examining that for months now. It would sting. He would pay Kuroba back for the thievery somehow (most likely through snarky comments given his current lack of height). There would be times where he'd feel the pressure of what he was doing, just like he did whenever he sat back and looked at what he'd done to Ran and so many others in his fake identity as Edogawa Conan.

"Well, tantei-han, tantei-kun," Kuroba eased himself up to standing. Despite looking like Shinichi's true self, he was back to sounding like Kaitou Kid again. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. Sleep sounds like a wonder right now. Pleasant dreams."

Shinichi let out a sigh. "He's right, Hattori. We're just going over the same ground again and again."

"Y're probably right." The Osakan detective stretched, belting out a massive yawn. "Still need more sleep 'nyway." Hattori got up to say his goodbyes and Shinichi stayed, just listening as Kazuha and Ran put Kogoro to bed, as Kuroba ghosted through the house, and Hattori stumbled out to head home.

He couldn't push things. Shinichi would have to be patient.

* * *

Aoko arrived at the station just as the sun was starting to set, with a large basket weighing down her arms. She knew her cooking wasn't as good as her friend Ran's (she doubted _anyone's_ could be...), but Aoko had had to cook for herself and her father for a long time. Her food wasn't anything to sneeze at. And she _knew_ how late the Task Force members could stay at the station, especially around a Kid heist, and _particularly_ when violence ended up involved.

So she did what she always did. She offered support. Besides, Kazuha had mentioned how the station at Osaka rarely had any real good food, something Hattori's father seemingly insisted on in order to get his officers to head home for a proper meal once in a while.

Sure enough, once she found where most of the Task Force members had taken a corner of the officer bullpen, one of them saw her and they all swarmed, already offering thanks once they saw her basket and digging up plates, utensils and clean mugs from somewhere so that they could all take a well needed break to unwind. Her father didn't appear, but Aoko was expecting that. He'd once told her that, as the boss, he didn't feel entirely comfortable eating with his men like he was one of them.

But she was surprised when a familiar voice greeted her from behind. "Aoko-kun, this is a pleasant surprise."

She turned. "Hakuba-kun!" she grinned, happy more than she wanted to admit to see a familiar face that was actually her own age. Although, she reflected, it should have been obvious. She knew that Hakuba would have been here for the heist and given the reports she'd been hearing about shots being fired, it was really no wonder that Hakuba was putting in overtime with the Task Force...

Aoko gave a big smile. "So, how are things going?"

The British detective glanced around as he snagged himself a cup of tea and a bowl of soup. A small gesture and Aoko found herself following Hakuba to a more secluded cubicle where the two of them sat down. With a small sip, the blond let out a soft sigh.

"I realize that the reporters haven't been given many details, but I think you should know. There is a very good probability that Kaitou Kid was shot during the heist."

Aoko chilled.

No, she had no love for Kaitou Kid. The thief always stole her father away and being adored for committing crimes. It was _wrong_. But Aoko would never admit, even in the privacy of her own mind, that she had respect for the international larcenist. She _knew_ what her father would do to make sure a jewel was safe, yet 1412 always seemed to wiggle past and make it seem easy when it _wasn't_. It had to take a lot of work and it was done. That really took something.

But as much as Aoko never admitted her respect, as much as she would go to heists to protest Kid showing up and shout for him to go home, as much as she sat home and waited up for her father until it got too late and she went to bed, as much as she held that resentment... Aoko would never wish violence on anyone. Especially Kaitou Kid, because that thief worked to make sure no one ever got hurt.

"Are you sure?" her voice was a harsh whisper.

"Quite certain," Hakuba replied. "Hattori Heiji, a well-known and moderately competent detective here in Osaka, was racing up the escalators when he saw Kaitou Kid slip off the safety rail, holding a child, one Edogawa Conan, and witnessed both go rolling down the roof of his escalator. During the tumble, he saw blood-"

"Is Conan-kun okay?" Aoko interjected. She'd met the child at the Budokan and Conan's quiet, insightful innocence had done a lot to help her through the chaotic emotional turmoil when Kaito had been accused of murder. Ran didn't often bring him over for their visits, but she'd seen him since then and was fond of the child. Ran doted on him and often talked of him and Aoko couldn't even _imagine_ what sort of worry she might be going through if Conan-kun was hurt...

But to Aoko's surprise, Hakuba (though still flat-faced) went beet red. "Yes, Edogawa-kun is fine."

Aoko leaned forward, curious as to why the reserved detective was blushing so badly. "Are you okay, Hakuba-kun?"

Hakuba looked off to the side. "... Merely remembering something unpleasant. Nothing for you to worry about."

She wasn't convinced, but Aoko was more worried about other things. She would be calling Ran first thing in the morning. And if Kazuha wouldn't mind, she'd go over and check on Ran and Conan herself.

Hakuba cleared his throat. "Ahem. Well, we have the sniper in custody-"

"Good," Aoko growled.

"-but there seems to be some strange occurrences."

She blinked. "Oh?"

Hakuba nodded, sipping from his soup and then his tea. "All snipers had orders to fire on a specific signal that would be sent through their own specific set ups."

Aoko nodded, not sure how what that had to do with someone being a complete _moron_ and firing with a child in range.

"The sniper in question apparently uses more modern digital encoders for receiving his messages."

"Digital..." Aoko repeated, now understanding where this was going. "His signal got hacked."

"And he received the order to fire, though it was not from his employer."

So someone else wanted Kaitou Kid dead. Aoko gasped. "Hakuba-kun! What if my _dad_ got between Kid and the bullet next time?" Oh, that would be so like her father, focused so exclusively on Kid that he'd get in the way without even knowing someone had the thief in their sights. And because it was Kaitou Kid, the men never had to worry about protective vests because Kid was non-violent to the extreme.

"There won't be a next time," Hakuba replied calmly, tentatively reaching out and lightly patting the back of her hand. "We have a profile of the person likely to have hacked the sniper's frequency. It's merely a matter of looking up prior cases with similarities and narrowing it down. Your father and I have been going through the Interpol databases most of the afternoon."

And despite Aoko's faith in her father and what he could do, a brief, harsh thought flashed across her mind. _You can't even catch Kaitou Kid, how can you catch someone in the shadows?_ She shook her head. "You promise? He'll be caught? This mystery guy won't hurt anyone else?"

Hakuba had a look in his eyes, one Aoko was familiar with. It was the look he had whenever his determination leaked over all his restraining walls of politeness. It was a familiar look whenever Hakuba had the chance to face down Kaitou Kid.

"You better believe it," her father answered, leaning over the cubicle and staring down with a grin, a fresh pipe in hand. "Leave it all to me, sweetie."

Aoko smiled.

* * *

Kaito was by his very nature (both pre and post becoming a thief) a nocturnal creature. With his father taking them out on picnics under the moonlight and just admiring the stars, he always found he tended to get more done at night. So it was no surprise to find him out on the roof of the Toyama residence, looking up at the moon and thanking her for her kindness. He had _thought_ that Lady Luck had abandoned him on that horrid night after getting shot and ending up in the care of a bunch of detectives who had been trying to chase him.

But really, both Lady Luck and Tsukiyomi had been very kind to him. Kudo was, perhaps, really the best person around to take him in, despite the cost it provided. But Kaito had already figured out how to pay back the runt. He'd be getting to that in a moment. Or rather, part of it.

First thing's first. He had his top-hat with him, and from within he pulled out a familiar portable set up. A microscope. While not as ideal as the set ups that jewelers usually used, it did what Kaito wanted it to. After all his time stealing jewels, he'd often come across fakes, so he always had a way to check onsite if what he'd just spirited away was really the jewel he'd wanted to steal or not. Tsukiyomi and a flashlight provided the light he needed as he inspected the artifact.

"Well shit," he grunted. It was a fake. All that work and it wasn't even what he'd been after. Kudo sacrificing his identity to the Toyama girl, Hattori and Ran being pulled into this giant tangle of what Kaito was after, Aoko being alone for Golden Week, all for _nothing_.

Kaito took a deep breath and let the anger go. He'd stolen fakes before. He'd just do what he always did. Steal the real one.

But first, he had to start his thank-you to tantei-kun. So he kept the flashlight on and clenched it in his teeth as he pulled out a small screwdriver and a pair of heavier-than-normal black glasses.

Time to get to work.

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Gah, this chapter was pulling teeth. In the end, we feel like we copped out, both with the talk between Kaito and Conan-tachi and with some of the investigation things. . It's a transition chapter, setting up for the second heist. A little plate spinning.

This story had been a difficult balance between emotional content and plot. There had been a _lot_ of side conversations that can occur with Kaito under Kazuha's roof and with Shinichi's secret (or part of it) outed to Kazuha. But if we spent our time on all of that, of Shinichi and Ran discussing the real possibility of his getting hurt, of Hattori and Kazuha and her involvement in things from now on, of Ran and Hattori over curbing Hattori's impulsiveness because it could expose secrets, of Ran and Kaito over Aoko and Kaito's big secret, etc, etc, etc, well. All those scenes, while fascinating to get into, would take a lot of time. We'd never see Aoko or Hakuba. And the investigation wouldn't start happening till much later.

So we cut out a lot of possible scenes, to keep the story from dragging. Besides, a lot of these scenes would be more drama and tension and very likely drag this into melodrama. We try and avoid that. As it is, it takes forever from the first heist to get to even investigating because just that night/following morning alone takes forever to get through things that were needed.

Meh... We hope it's turning out okay.

**Side Note**: There's this little holiday coming up you might have heard of called Christmas. It's rather an important holiday here in the States, with lots of things to do. One of the most familiar traditions is gift-giving. We both have jobs during the week. That leaves shopping for the weekends. So throughout December, on Saturdays that we usually spend on fanfiction . net, we'll be out shopping for gifts. This slightly changes when we'll be posting new chapters. You will still see a new chapter up in two weeks. No doubt about that. But we'll either be putting it up early Saturday morning before we head out (East Coast Time) or late Sunday night (more likely). Pardon the inconvenience.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part Twelve**

It had taken her a while to find the house. Ran had said that finding the Toyama residence could sometimes be difficult if one didn't know where to look, and Aoko realized this fact very acutely as she had taken no less than three wrong turns before finally finding the nameplate 'Toyama' on the simple fence surrounding a modest house. She found herself suddenly nervous, and she wasn't sure why. She'd already met Kazuha, and she was always (she thought) good with people. She kept telling herself that she wanted to check on Ran and especially Conan, seeing as he had such an "adventure" the night of the heist, but she found herself mulling over other things. Maybe it was the anxiety surrounding her father. The teen girl remembered eight years ago, when Kaitou Kid disappeared without a trace, not long after Kaito's father died. He had bit his way through three pipes, gnawing and cursing under his breath as time drew on and on and no new note or heist or even a tease. At the time, Aoko couldn't understand why her father was so nervous about it - he had no more reason to keep leaving her alone. Secretly, (very, _very_ secretly) she'd thought he was mad because he enjoyed leaving her to give chase.

When Kaito had found out, he made the most unusual face before grabbing her wrist and dragging her back to her house, right up to her father and, with a puff of smoke, handcuffing them together.

"Now figure out if he hates being with you," he growled before stalking off.

Oh, it was years later, when Aoko was a little older and a little more mature, that she realized how she must have hurt Kaito in making that confession, because his own father could never be reached for again. She'd also learned how wrong she had been; that night, her father and she had had a long talk about what he did and why, and she felt much better for it. She still didn't understand his worry over the disappearance, but chalked it up to an adult thing.

Now, older still, she realized with more clarity why it was such a cause of concern. Another person was out there, hurt, and her father could do nothing to help him (her?). Maybe that was why she was so nervous now; she wanted to do something constructive for the people around her but couldn't, and in proof ran to her new friend Ran for support and direction under the guise of doing so for _her_. Nodding, Aoko took a deep breath and straightened her shirt before confidently walking up to the front door and politely knocking - before she lost her nerve again.

The child, Conan, opened the door and stared up at her saucer-eyed. His glasses were missing somewhere, and Aoko once again saw the resemblance to Kaito.

She bent down and ruffled his hair to increase the effect. "What's that look for, Conan-kun?" she asked playfully, pleased at how like her (missing) best friend he looked like. "Were you expecting a run-in with Kaitou Kid?"

The resounding "Uwaaaaaaaaah!" that came out of his mouth was totally worth it.

"A-Aoko-nee-chan!" he tried very hard to recover, his voice still a few decibels too loud. "Wh-what brings you here?"

Aoko knelt down and ruffled his hair some more. "I'm here to see Ran-chan, if that's okay," she said brightly. "You really do look like Kaito."

A nervous giggle bubbled up his throat, matching his face, and he took a step back. "I'll go get Ran," he said quickly, dashing back into the house.

"It's Ran-nee-chan!" she called after him. "I know how close you are, but she's much too old for you!" Really, kids these days...

"Ah, Aoko-chan," came a bright reply from where Conan had disappeared. Ran came out, the boy's tiny hand in hers and the other tugging off an apron. "Your timing is perfect, I just finished the dishes. Kazuha-chan!" she called out. "Conan-kun and I are going out!"

Aoko watched the elementary school student jump. "Wait, we?" he asked.

Ran nodded and pulled him up to the genkan to put his sneakers on. To Aoko she said, "Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun had been having something of a fight for the last three days," she said softly, stepping into her shoes while Conan sat down to do the same. "I think some time alone will do them some good."

"Oh, I see," Aoko replied, running a hand through her hair. "Two tourists looking for somewhere to spend the day. I imagine this will go spectacularly."

"Don't worry," Ran offered. "We've been here enough, so I have a few spots in mind. First stop is this nice little café where we can see the river."

It was a short walk to the station - once Aoko knew where she was going - and a five-block hike to the place Ran was referencing. The view was spectacular, and the coffee was excellent.

"So," Ran said genially, sipping her cup. Conan, to Aoko's curiosity, was also drinking coffee; and savoring every drop of it. She wondered if he knew that it stunted his growth. "How's your Golden Week going?"

"Okay," Aoko said slowly. Ran gave a measured gaze, and the other girl smiled. "Okay, it kind of sucks. Kaito has disappeared to parts unknown, and he only called once since to complain that he hates it but isn't leaving it, either. That was two days ago, the night after the Kaitou Kid heist. Dad and Hakuba-kun - oh, he's here, too - are so absorbed in the case they don't really have time." She sighed, putting her elbow on the table so her hand could cradle her chin. "It's kind of hard to do the tourist thing on your own, or when everyone you know is worried about whether or not some selfish, good-for-nothing thief is hurt or not."

She found it odd that Conan's gaze tightened slightly, more noticeable without his glasses, and he looked into his mug. Ran threw the child a glance and then looked to Aoko more seriously. "You remember that we were there, right?" she asked.

The girl blinked. "Oh, yes, that's right. Your friend Hattori-kun was invited, and he invited you."

Ran nodded. "Yes, well, Conan-kun ended up getting a very close up look at the action. Do you want to share, Conan-kun?"

The boy looked up, slightly startled at his inclusion, and glanced at both girls before bursting into rhetoric. "It was really cool! Kaitou Kid-nii-chan was all white and cool on the roof, and I tried to show him a magic trick when he grabbed me and jumped up onto the rail!" ...What? "And then he slipped off the rail, and I thought that was weird 'cause I didn't think Kaitou Kid-nii-chan _could_ slip, and then we were all over the place and it was really scary 'cause everything was everywhere and we were falling, but then we stopped and Kaitou Kid-nii-chan... Kaitou Kid-nii-chan..." Aoko watched the child's face furrow, brows falling down in time with his mouth in time with his head as he stared somewhere past his coffee. Aoko realized dimly that her heart was racing as she pictured what the boy was saying. He was right - Kid never _did_ slip, if not she, then her father could acutely attest to the fact, and she was beginning to see where this was going.

"Kaitou Kid-nii-chan, he wouldn't get up at first." And Conan's voice was much deeper, almost older; he sounded more like he was twelve or thirteen, just before puberty. "It was even more scary than slipping..."And then, just like that, his face lit up again, and he was once again the excited child explaining an adventure. "But he did get up, and he pulled out his hang glider with a thought, it just appeared from nowhere and he told me to get on his back and he took off flying! That part was really, really cool! We flew over this giant baseball field, and then he dropped me off and disappeared in a puff of smoke, so it couldn't've been that bad, right?" He looked to Ran. "Right?"

Ran was smiling softly, her gaze incredibly fond. "I'm sure Kid-san is fine," she said gently, her eyes completely on Aoko, "But I'm sure he gave everyone a very big scare."

Aoko blinked suddenly, realizing a tear fell down her face. "Oh, _dammit_," she cursed, wiping her face. "I wonder if I'm due, I keep crying at the drop of a hat... First when my dad came back, then when Kaito called, now this, _dammit_..." She wished she hadn't left her calendar at home; she was mortified that she was showing so much emotion in front of her friend - she didn't give a _damn_ about Kaitou Kid, nope, not at _all_. But she _did_ care about the scare he'd given everyone - even one innocent, little boy. She was mentally tacking on to the thief's list of offenses.

"In the meantime," Ran said, the mood suddenly lighter. "Shinichi's birthday was today."

Conan looked up in abject surprise.

Aoko blinked. "Really? Is he going to visit you?"

Ran's grin was quite nearly blithe, her hands folded together under her chin. "In a manner of speaking," she said lightly; and Aoko knew that it was something she didn't want to talk about. A "secret," as it were, something the other girl had been tutoring Aoko in. "Shinichi's really bad about remembering his birthday."

Aoko balked. "_How_? It's his _birthday_!"

Conan turned bright red, looking down in embarrassment, which Aoko didn't understand at all.

"Oh, you should have seen him when we were kids. Because we have all the holidays around it: Showa Day, Constitutional Memorial Day, Children's Day - ah! That reminds me." Ran reached into her purse and pulled out a small wrapped gift, placing it on the table. Conan of course goggled it, a hand reaching instinctively out for it before propriety set in and he pulled it back, tugging it under the table and practically _drooling_ over the present. "Anyway," Ran said, deliberately oblivious to the boy's plight. "When we were kids, Shinichi would always growl and grumble when I dragged him somewhere, and then would be completely pole axed when he found the surprise party. He knew it was a surprise party, of course, he was too good a detective to not figure it out, but it drove him _nuts_ every year because he couldn't for the life of him figure out _why_ we were throwing him one. It was so funny every year!"

The girls both giggled. Aoko could picture the scenario very clearly.

"Ne, ne," Conan asked, twitching in his seat. "Is that Shinichi-nii-chan's present?"

"No, silly," Ran said, "It's yours. Since tomorrow is Children's Day, I thought I'd give Conan-kun his present early."

He only eyed the present more fervently; Aoko couldn't help but smile at the child's energy.

"Well?"

It was all the prompting he needed, and he stood up on his chair to reach over the table and snatch the gift, plopping back down and the gift disappearing to his lap under the table. An almost comical display of paper randomly flying from the hidden location issued, until at last Conan lifted the lid of the box and stared at the treasure inside. Without his glasses, his wide blue eyes could clearly be seen, and the look of honest surprise on his face that quickly turned to deep-rooted appreciation was plainly visible.

"Ran..." he whispered, and in that one little word conveyed all the emotion he wanted to express.

"Well?" Aoko asked. "Don't leave us in suspense."

The boy looked up, a giant grin on his face as he held up his gift.

* * *

Heiji and Kazuha and, er, Kudo sat for lunch, chopsticks in hand and working to empty their bowls. Heiji was throwing a glare at _Kid_ every chance he got; the freeloading international _bastard_ had been there for _three days_. He watched as the thief reached over the table to snatch something and wince, his ribs still hurting from his injury. If he wanted to think about it, Heiji could understand why the other teen was still in hiding - who wouldn't be after getting shot? He'd seen what the _real_ Kudo did after a scare.

Kazuha reached for him and handed Kid the salt.

"Thanks, Kazuha-san."

But _damn_ if it didn't get his goat whenever he saw Kid-Kuroba-whoever-the-hell-he-was acting just like Kudo. It irritated him to _no end_, and all he wanted to do was hit him over the head with his bokken and smash some sense into him. That Kid had willingly given his identity to them was So. Not. Helping. Heiji didn't know what to do with it. He'd talked to Kudo about it at length, and the pint-sized detective could finally explain the series of events that led up to the heist and his part in it. Hattori had just about went through the roof when he found out that Kudo used to have _evidence_ to _prove_ that some guy named Kuroba Kaito was Kaitou Kid - and he _did_ go through the roof when he learned that it had been lost in the fall from the Sky Garden. He went nuclear when Kudo said he was glad that he'd lost the evidence, because it relieved him of the weight of responsibility.

"What th' hell?" Heiji had demanded. "Y're obliged ta turn him in!"

"You're right, I am," Kudo had said, padding next to him as the pair walked through downtown Osaka the previous day. "But... there's something I see in him; maybe because I met him outside of his nightlife. He... we're alike, somehow. I don't pretend to understand it." The faux child laughed, full of irony and much too old for his features. "He's a little like you, Hattori, in a way. Boisterous and full of life and bound and determined to help people."

"I don't go stealin' stuff!"

"No, but you lie for me when you can, and you cover for me, and you bend over backwards to protect Kazuha-kun."

Heiji growled as he remembered the conversation. Kazuha glared at him over the table, but sniffed and turned her face, instead deliberately engaging in conversation with Kid.

Not. Helping. At. All.

She'd been like that since his first day here, after their fight: ostentatiously ignoring him and talking to Ran or especially Kid. The fake Kudo played it to the hilt, and Hattori was more than a little freaked out to see someone that was so obviously Kudo and knowing it was someone _else_. It made a body wonder about other people in life and if they were who they pretended to be. Greh, paranoia was not going to help, and he growled again.

Kazuha snapped her fiery eyes to him. "Alright, that's it," she said, slamming a palm onto the table. "What th' hell's yer problem?"

And _damn it all to hell_ that he couldn't explain it all.

"I'm just pissed," he churned out through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at Kid. It was all his fault anyway.

"Well maybe if ya decided ta be honest with me in th' first place this wouldn'ta happened," she hissed, leaning forward.

This again. "I told ya, there was a damn good reason I didn'-"

"Would ya _ever_ have told me?" she demanded, her face intense.

To the side there was a polite cough. "Oh, I guess I just remembered this very important call I'd better make to this contact I have." Kid-as-Kudo stood up and took his plate with him. "I'll just disappear to my room and make that call; it may take a while so feel free to have this conversation outside of my earshot." Kid turned around and started to leave the kitchen before stopping at the doorframe, looking over his shoulder. "Try to listen, Kazuha-san. A lot of this he didn't have a choice in the matter. And most of that is my fault."

"Damn straight ya-" Heiji called after him, but Kid had already disappeared, and Kazuha was still there, and so the epitaph of thief related curses remained locked in his throat.

"Would ya ever have told me...?" Kazuha asked in a much smaller voice. Hattori turned and she was staring down at her plate, hands fisted under the table, her ponytail dandling over a shoulder, ribbon on the other.

Everything softened, and Heiji took a deep sigh as the anger seeped out of him. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

Kazuha snapped to attention. "Ya don't-"

But Heiji was still talking. "Look, th' thing with Kudo... he's had more run-ins with Them than me, but... Ya heard the San Francisco story." And _damn_ if Kid didn't do a good job delivering that. "They're pretentious bastards, evil ta th' core, but they're _thorough_. If They ever thought ya knew somethin', you'd be dead, an' I didn't want ta put ya in that position. An' I didn't want ya ta find out like _this_ either." Through subterfuge, through half-truths, through someone else.

"Maybe... Maybe if we knew th' Organization was down fer th' count; that we'd put Them away, all of'm; so it was safe fer Kudo ta come out. Then I mighta said something." He rubbed his forehead. "But now we'll never know."

Kazuha was looking at him, her face tight, leaning forward. "Heiji?"

"Damn him," he answered, slamming his fist on the table. "Damn him. _Damn him_ fer taking th' choice away from me." Damn Kaitou Kid, damn, damn, damn, damn him! Bastard! Heiji growled for the third time that day.

He looked up and saw the tightness release on Kazuha's face, surprise giving way to something that looked like understanding. To Heiji's surprise, she reached forward and took his fist into her thin hand. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

... What?

"... What?"

"I'm sorry," she said again, a little louder. "I've been so mad at ya, ignorin' ya an' bitin' at ya. But you've had yer own worries ta go through. This thing, it's hurt you just as much as it's hurt me, an' I refused ta see it. I'm sorry."

The sentiment was decidedly uncomfortable for Heiji; he was never completely sure how to react to it. His instinct was to apologize back, though he wasn't entirely sure why. And she looked really pretty right now, the light was hitting her face just right... The two of them were leaning forward...

And his phone rang.

Heiji admitted defeat. "This'd better be pretty damn good," he shouted into the phone.

"Eh? Hattori-kun," the voice of Yamano came into his ear. "I thought you wanted to be called-"

"Oh! Ya got th' profile?" he asked, standing immediately. He missed Kazuha's put out look. "What'd ya come up with?"

"Well, Yukimura-han did what ya asked, an' he went back ten years instead of five like ya asked. There's been only three or four cases here in Japan, but Interpol pulled up another dozen across Europe an' America. It's a varied portfolio, which made us think this guy's a freelancer. Y'were right, th' guy uses mostly radio 'n' digital radio interference; makes someone think he's on th' right channel, then makes'm do whatever needs ta be done. He taps into th' radio frequency and uses a prerecorded check in to make the bosses think all's well. That click's th' only thing that even gave'm away, an' even then it wasn't until ya made th' call that anyone even put it all together. Psych is still makin' a profile, but the info is sketchy at best."

"Good," Heiji said, walking down out of the kitchen to the front door. "I'll come join ya as soon as I can." He flipped his phone closed and stepped into his first sneaker before realizing the problem he had: Kudo wasn't here to keep an eye on Kid. He turned to glare at the offending hallway to see Kazuha had snuck up behind him.

"Here," she said softly. "Th' rest of yer lunch so ya don't starve. Go ahead, I c'n take care of Kudo."

"But..."

"Heiji, ya didn't want it, but I'm _in_ it now. Lemme do this much fer ya."

And in that moment he was so proud of her he broke out into a smile - the first one since the heist. "Knowin' _him_, he may try ta sneak out, so make sure he stays put."

Kazuha nodded, flexing an arm. "I'll guard the door if I have ta."

He could kiss her.

He wouldn't. He wanted to live, thank you.

But he could kiss her.

* * *

Kaito, unbeknownst to the two Osakan lovebirds, had been listening as soon as he heard the phone ring. Grinning, the thief pulled out the disposable phone Hattori had given him and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Yo, Jii-chan," Kaito said in soft tones.

"Young Master! You're alright!" The older man's voice cried out. Kaito padded down the hall and took the well-practiced route to the roof. He's already made the mock up of his sleeping self in his room. Part of being a magician was invisibility, after all.

"Yeah, sorry about not calling you sooner," he said, letting a small portion of his guilt show through. "I'm laying low - obviously - and I didn't want to say anything until I figured out who ordered the hit. I don't have a name, but I have a technique. Are you connected enough for that kind of thing?"

"That would depend on the technique, of course, but if it's what I think it is, it shouldn't be a problem. You seem to forget I'm quite skilled in electronic communication and surveillance."

Kaito grinned into his phone. "Well, let's just say I had to use some of your skills just now to listen in on the conversation I needed." In quick succession Kaito rolled off the information he'd overheard when he tapped Hattori's phone. "So? Is it enough?"

"I already know three people who could fit that profile, and while I sincerely doubt they would do something like that, they will lead me to other names."

"Good. I'd like it sooner rather than later. All the work and the stupid thing was a fake, and I haven't even started researching where the real one is. I want it done before break is over."

"I understand, Young Master."

Kaito hung up the phone and filtered through the menus, erasing all calls from the phone's memory before opening it up and pulling out the memory chip. One never could be too careful, after all. "Well," he said to the afternoon sky. "I think it's time I pulled out of here."

He snuck back into his room with ease, gently tugging out of his clothes and putting on a fresh set: black slacks and charcoal collared shirt with a blue blazer. Kudo at his finest. He left the repaired (and enhanced) glasses on the freshly made bed for tantei-kun on top of a note for Ran. He wondered in the back of his mind if the detective knew he could forge handwriting as well... anyway, he grabbed his top hat, pulling out the monocle that belonged to his father and placed it in his breast pocket. It had been killing him that he couldn't keep it on his person, and now that he had it he felt much more relaxed. Deep breath, think _Kudo_, and he pulled out the fake jewel, hid his hat under his arm and overcoat, and confidently strode out of the room and into Kazuha's dubious gaze.

"I see you're my guard today," he said smoothly, still playing Kudo's character.

"Ya ain't even gonna say goodbye to Ran? Y're gonna leave her hangin' again? An' what about the kid? Conan adores you!"

Kudo snorted. "I don't think adore is the right word."

"Y're missin' th' point."

"Maybe I'm just avoiding the point," Kudo said, a wry, slightly sad smile on his face. "The longer I stay here, the more I put everyone in danger. That's the last thing I want, especially for Ran."

The girl took a martial stance. "So help me, Kudo, I'll bruise yer other ribs if ya take a step out of this hallway."

Still smiling, Kudo reached into a pocket with his good hand. "Could you do me a favor?" he asked lightly. "Make sure Hattori gets this? It should help in his investigation." With a flick of the wrist, he tossed the object to Kazuha, making her break her concentration on him to catch it before it was planted in her forehead. It was the only misdirection Kaitou Kid needed.

Kazuha looked at the fist-sized stone, honey colored with a reddish center, and frowned. A sticker was attached with the word "FAKE" in big capital letters, an angry face scrawled onto it. "Kudo, what-"

She looked up and he was gone.

* * *

It was pushing on suppertime when Heiji came back, an adequate sized folder in his hands that he wanted to share with Kudo. Quick stop off to check on Kid and he could "conveniently" forget to head home in time for supper and "conveniently" piss his father off more.

Great plan, right?

This was all torn to shreds, however, when Kazuha opened the door with a frantic look in her eyes. "He's gone, Heiji!"

Heiji's mind went blank.

"... What?"

"He's gone! Kudo's gone! I don't know how he did it! I was tryin' ta get him back in his room an' then he tossed this stupid thing at me an' when I looked up he was just _gone_! He just disappeared!"

Heiji frowned, not quite believing what he was hearing. Stumbling, he pulled himself out of his sneakers and pushed past the akido master, dashing down the hallway to the Kid's room. Nothing was there, just Kudo's glasses and a letter addressed to Ran, everything had been cleaned out. He spun around, unsure what to think, to see Kazuha right behind him.

He interrogated her quickly, absorbing the details slowly, until he finally asked to see what the thief had tossed at her.

"This..." he started, staring, "this is th' Birth of Spring, th' jewel from that heist th' other night." With a bright sticker labeling it as a fake. Peeling off the sticker, he saw on the back the word, "Truth."

"Huh?" Kazuha asked. "I don't get it. How'd Kudo come across th' jewel Kaitou Kid stole...? Unless..." Her eyes widened in realization, as did Heiji's when he realized what Kid had just done for them as a parting gift. He'd given them the truth.

"_That rat bastard!_" he shouted to the top of his lungs, stomping a foot.

This distracted Kazuha from the face-splitting grin on his face. Because also on the back of the sticker were the words,

"See you at the next heist."

* * *

It didn't take long for Kaito to settle in his hotel room. He dropped off the sparse things he'd brought with him and had already placed an order for a new white suit before he'd arrived. There would still be an untold amount of customization, adding pockets and seems for all his little do-dads. A full makeover took about a week (being a magician required many and various skills, but his sewing skills needed _time_ for it to look invisible, thank you), but could ad hock enough for his rematch with the owner of the Birth of Spring. His first impulse was to leap right into making a new, more straightforward note and dive into preparing for the heist, but first he'd have to know _where_ the real jewel was.

And so, after settling the basics into his hotel room, he changed into a dearly missed pair of jeans and a loose fitting T-shirt. That was actually surprising; with Ran's cooking, he was beginning to think he'd never be thin again. He wondered when Aoko would pick up her skills. Not that she was a poor cook. Not at all, but nobody seemed to match Ran's cooking.

Oh, speaking of which, Kaito popped down to the street and walked three blocks down and into the lobby of Aoko's hotel. Lo and behold, there was the person he was looking for - and the added bonus of Hakuba.

Life, Kaito decided, was good.

With a puff of smoke, he made a bouquet of flowers appear: specifically yellow and pink roses, mixed with some bells of Ireland, and purple carnations. Smiling, he slid up behind the pair (strike that, behind the lovely lady and the hapless sidekick) and draped himself over Aoko's shoulders, putting the bouquet in her line of sight.

"Yo!" he said lightly, as if he hadn't been gone for four days.

"! Kaito!"

The smile on Aoko's face was completely worth it.

So was the scowl on Hakuba's, but that was beside the point.

"The relatives finally gave me time off for good behavior," Kaito said by way of explanation. He looked conspiratorially over his shoulder. "At least, I _think_ they did. I didn't see a straightjacket when I left."

Aoko's eyes were narrow, as were Hakuba's. Kaito turned to the blond. "That's right, you don't know. Okay, so I came to Osaka to meet some darling relatives of mine. They discovered I was a magician, so they just sort of assumed that I was also an escape artist, and so out came the handcuffs and the straightjacket. After _that_ little misunderstanding was taken care of, I did some simple magic for them, but when I pulled out the red roses they smacked me over the head and decided to spend the next _three days_ teaching me the language of flowers, all with their four guard dogs glaring at me. Did I mention the small one was the worst? Had the most annoying yip you'd ever hear-"

"Kuroba-kun, what are you babbling about?" Hakuba demanded.

"I'm telling Aoko what's been going on in my life for the last four days. Actually, I'm curious why you're here; I figured you'd still be attached to Kaitou Kid's cape as he ran around Osaka."

Hakuba twitched.

"Sorry I missed the heist," Kaito said, spinning back to Aoko, "I would have kept you company if I wasn't trying to find out if I was double jointed. You wouldn't believe how many muscles I pulled trying to get the straightjacket off. I finally did, though, and once I thought about it, it was kind of cool; I think I might try it again."

"Sometime soon?" Hakuba asked under his breath.

"Kaitoooooo," Aoko groaned. "Would you stop kidding around...?"

Kaito took a moment to think about it. "Okay," he said brightly. "Last night I had the craziest dream. You were in it, but you were in this string bikini that was totally not hiding anything, and two Hakuba's were there - one an angel and one a demon - and they were _both_ cheering that you'd take it off and-"

"KAITO!"

"Then you don't want to know why the ankle biter was there covered in whipped cream and strawberries?"

"NO!"

Hakuba was bright red at the imagery Kaito had just created, before coughing it off and glaring at the thief. "I fear any psychologist that would ever try to interpret your dreams," he said evenly.

Kaito grinned. "What? That you're a pervert and I was hungry and Aoko was sweltering and hot? It was ninety degrees in that straightjacket, let me tell you."

"And you obviously didn't spend enough time in it!" Aoko cried out, angry. She swung at him.

Ah, he missed this.

"Then do you want to hear about the brainwashing? All that language of flower stuff was overwhelming." That he'd learned it to begin with when he wanted to see if anything other than cherry blossoms represented spring had nothing to do with it. Nope, not at all. The twin glares he was getting indicated that he was perhaps pushing it too far, and so he gave a theatrical sigh of the defeated and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Fine, fine," he said. "How're things for you guys?" He turned to Aoko. "Have you been spending time with your girlfriends? I know you can get lonely when your father's off chasing the bad guys; and I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."

To both young men's surprise, Aoko's eyes welled up with tears.

"Thank you," she said in a watery voice. Then she rubbed furiously at her eyes. "God! I've been doing this all week!"

"That time of month?" Kaito asked. His answer was a sluggish swat at his head. "Must be, you're only that slow when you feel like one giant cramp."

"You have the sensitivity of concrete," Hakuba growled, before stepping forward. "Would you like to sit down?" he told the girl.

She swatted at him. "I'm fine," she growled, her face pink - from tears or embarrassment, one could only guess.

Kaito changed topics again: "How'd the heist go? I heard something about Kid getting shot, is that true?"

Aoko's ire softened slightly, and Hakuba gave the dry answer. "We can't be certain, but blood was found on the scene."

"I hope he wasn't hurt," Aoko said softly, a hand coming to her cheek.

This peeked Kaito's curiosity, but decided he'd press later - when Aoko was less menstrual and Hakuba was in a different time zone. He was about to ask about the ankle-biter - Kudo - and how the public was viewing his "little" adventure, and then somehow conveniently segue to Hakuba and his disastrous visit to the Toyama residence to tease him mercilessly, when the next best thing happened.

"Oh, Kaito-kun! You've appeared."

The three teens turned around to see Nakamori himself coming into the lobby. A new pipe was in his mouth, meaning he'd bitten through his last one.

"This is great!" Kaito said, clapping his hands together. "I'll take you all out to dinner. That'll keep me away from my darling relatives and you guys can catch me up."

"So long as you're buying, that's great!" Nakamori said.

**

* * *

Author's Notes:** Kaito is ridiculously fun to write. :P We've said this repeatedly, but he just has this great sense of humor. He's also - in spite of Hakuba's references - very sensitive to the people around him; and his "gift" of truth to Hattori and Kazuha rather proves that. It's just ambiguous enough for Kazuha to not be completely sure that it wasn't Kid instead of Kudo, and the perfect amount of reward to Hattori for his (im)patience in aiding and abetting a fugitive.

If your curious, the, er, "message" Kaito gave Aoko in her bouquet (at least what I was aiming for) was Kaito's friendship with Aoko changing to something more significant with a little luck. At least, that's what wikipedia tells me. I did try.

Also, no clue on what Ran's gift to Conan was. Neither of them would tell us.

More investigation stuff in this chapter; there hasn't really been much, it's a weakness of this fic, but we hope we're making up for it with all the character bits that you're reading.

Next chapter: the hunt for the culprit and the second heist.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Thirteen**

Kaito still had a few things that he felt he needed to do to properly pay back tantei-kun for the enormous debt he owed. After all, Kudo had voluntarily given away part of his secret to Kazuha, something Kaito himself wasn't so sure he'd be willing to give up if the situations were reversed, just to help him stay safe. Really, Kaito owed the shrunken sleuth a lot for that, but the things he was doing to pay back were all small scale. Hopefully the sum would make up for it.

With Kazuha properly confused on if Kudo Shinichi or Kaitou Kid had been staying at her house, the glasses repaired (enhanced), and an open invitation to the second heist to catch the villain-of-the-day, it all made for a good start for the repayment. But there were still a few things to do that could make them square as far as he was concerned.

The first, and most difficult, thing to do had Kaito sitting in a dark room, dressed as Kudo, and working what sort of words he'd use. This was going to be delicate. Hakuba needed to know to keep his mouth shut about Kudo still being alive. Granted, the great embarrassment of the incident would be enough to stop Hakuba from actively mentioning it, but who knew how it could slip out in casual conversation? And even a casual slip up might alert the wrong people and Kudo had done too much for people to get killed and have the people around him killed. No, Kaito wasn't going to let that happen. Even if Kudo _hadn't_ already done so much for him.

Kaito did have to admit, though, the idea of completely and utterly teasing Hakuba as Kudo had a lot of nice, shiny aspects. But Kudo wasn't the type to tease someone he didn't know. Instead, the detective would be nothing but unfailingly polite, almost to the point of putting the skinny, freckled kid to shame. Kudo only loosened up with time and shared experiences. It was a shame too, because from what Kaito observed, Kudo could have a wicked, if dry, sense of humor with those he considered friends.

That thought actually made Kaito pause as he remembered back at the train station before the heist, when Kudo had apparently been teasing _him_.

... That indicated Kudo might think of Kaito as a friend.

_Gah! Even when the squirt isn't _here_ he's still throwing me off my rocker!_

All through Kaito's time under the roof of so many detectives, he'd thought that Kudo had done it to get answers. A gesture of respect and apology that he'd unfairly discovered who Kaito was outside of a heist. But as a hand reaching out in friendship? Kaito couldn't afford friends with his night job. Hell, _Kudo_ couldn't afford friends with his situation... But Kudo still had them. Friends who knew his secret and still stuck by him. Kudo's girlfriend, the one person who would mostly likely go ballistic at Discovering All, was still by his side and doing anything she could to help. Even Kazuha, despite the rough introduction she had into at least part of Kudo's secret, had stood by him and done what she could.

It made Kaito wonder if maybe, just maybe, sharing his secret with tantei-kun, tantei-han, and tantei-chan wasn't crazy. Maybe it was the right thing to do. Because now he might actually... have friends who knew. Friends he could _really_ talk to about how crazy things went for him. And damn if he didn't want Aoko in that cluster as well, despite the risks. Because she deserved it more, she'd known him longer, and in a way it felt like a betrayal that he'd let tantei-kun's crew know all about his secrets before he'd told Aoko.

Kaito shook his head. Damn Kudo and all the chaos he shed in his wake. Kaito couldn't think about this right now. Later, after he'd time to absorb and deal with everything that had occurred during this horrendous Golden Week. Later, after he'd spent some time with Lady Luck and Tsukiyomi to ensure that his goddesses were still with him and looking out for him.

Deep breath. Think _Kudo_. Be _Kudo_.

And just in time, because a key slid into the lock for the hotel room.

The lights came on and Kudo heard Hakuba gasp.

Kudo stood, catching his reflection in the windows of the room. Slate grey slacks, white button down shirt, blue blazer, hair flat except for the cowlick in back. Everything in place. Kudo turned and gave a slight bow to Hakuba.

"Hakuba-san, please pardon my intrusion."

Hakuba looked at him, eyes narrowing. "Kudo-san," was about all he could manage. Kudo knew it was because he had been surprised. Nobody ever expected to return to someplace safe and see it invaded by someone you barely knew.

Kudo came up from the bow. "I apologize for the unorthodox nature of this meeting. But as I am certain you have already come to a few conclusions about me, I thought it prudent to talk with you privately."

Hakuba hesitated, still off-balance at the intrusion and refusing to show it. Kudo was fine with standing in the silence. He would be as patient as it took. Another moment and Hakuba finally took a confident step forward. "Please, have a seat, Kudo-san. Would you like some tea? Coffee?"

"No, thank you, Hakuba-san." Kudo sat back down as Hakuba sat across from him. The British detective put down a folder on the coffee table between them and Kudo noticed that it seemed to be a file on _him_. Buried under the Kudo persona he was acting as, Kaito shuddered. This was going to take more work than he thought.

They sat, looking at each other. Kudo knew what he was here to do. Damage control. But Hakuba was caught unawares and still trying to figure everything out. Kudo gave him the time. Hakuba wasn't his enemy, and it seemed the courteous thing to do.

It didn't take long before Hakuba's eyes sharpened. "You are here to ensure I tell no one that I've seen you."

"Correct, Hakuba-san." Kudo bowed his head. "I realize that it is an unusual request and undoubtedly sparks your natural curiosity," he gestured to the folder. "I assure you, that while I have had to learn skills that I despise," a wave to the door he'd picked in order to come in, "and that will likely spark even more of your curiosity, there is precious little that I can say. You know why I came. Will you please forget to ever mention that you and I have met?"

Hakuba glared at him, eyes narrowed. "Given our previous encounter," he replied guardedly, "and the fact that you have managed to break into my hotel room, might I ask for proof that you aren't Kaitou Kid messing with me?"

Kudo heaved a tired sigh, leaning forward to rest his head on his hand. "Hakuba-san, I do not know what to tell you. By this point, you have most likely uncovered that I have been missing for some time. Or perhaps, 'missing' is an inappropriate word. Let us use unreachable or reclusive. The fact that I happened to be in Osaka during a Kaitou Kid heist, and considering that I look a great deal like the person you suspect-" Hakuba took a sharp breath.

"Really, Hakuba-san," Kudo gave a light chuckle. "Ran _is_ friends with Aoko-san. This Kuroba Kaito of yours seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to me, as my distant cousin Conan-kun does. I have confidence in my abilities, and if I were to offer a deduction on why you decided to pull my cheek when we met, it was because I likely sound like Kaitou Kid and the confidence he has in his own abilities. To then see me, someone who apparently looks almost precisely like the one you suspect of being the international thief, was something far too convenient to pass up."

Given the blush Hakuba was fighting, Kudo hit the nail on the head. Deep inside, Kaito squirmed in glee. Take that, mighty detectives! Psychology trumps deduction!

"A very logical deduction, Hakuba-san, if perhaps a touch too focused." Kudo would not insult a colleague outright, especially one who _did_ have a good reputation in his deductions and one he'd just met. But a little poke in Hakuba's behavior needed to be addressed for this to work.

Hakuba gave _very_ slight nod. "When all other possibilities have been eliminated-"

"-what remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." Kudo nodded.

"I didn't look at other possibilities," Hakuba mumbled, looking away. A moment to let the embarrassment pass, and the half-British detective looked him in the eyes. "However, there are several unanswered questions about you, Kudo-san."

Kudo raised an eyebrow, ever the curious detective.

"Such as why you were so close to the Toyama residence in the first place? Why you were out in the rain so long that you ended up ill? Where you've been since you faded from the public spotlight?"

"And with answers to those, you can banish any remaining doubts that I might be the _illustrious_ Kaitou Kid," Kudo offered, just a hint of sarcasm towards the thief that he really was.

"Rather," Hakuba replied, with the same dry tone.

Kudo sat back, crossing his arms and thinking. Inside, Kaito was scrambling. Hakuba wouldn't take a cop-out answer like "I'm not at liberty to discuss it," or "It's personal and none of your business," or anything like that. But the real Kudo had _trusted_ him with the secret. If Kaito was really going to end up being friends with the truncated detective, he wouldn't betray him. Besides, Kudo was in too fine a mess to have Hakuba sniffing around. That might endanger Hakuba as well.

"It will suffice to say," Kudo replied, "that what I have been up to is none of your business."

Hakuba's brows dropped.

"However, if I did not supply you with any information, you would undoubtedly start poking around my life regardless." Hakuba at least had the decency to look a smidge embarrassed. "So."

Kaito continued to think as fast as he could for a decent answer that would satisfy Hakuba while not giving things away that would make the stubborn blond detective still poke around. Options were few. Even the half-baked idea of some sort of incident with an over-obsessive fan wouldn't explain how tantei-kun had completely dropped of the map and Hakuba wouldn't buy it. As long as Hakuba didn't get some sort of full disclosure, he'd probably still keep poking around. _Come on! Something, something, something!_ On a case? To broad for Hakuba, and Hakuba would want to help no matter what details Kudo provided. Vacation? Visiting family in America? No, wouldn't explain how he stopped answering letters or why he was in Osaka at this time. Kidnapped? Too fantastic a tale...

Hakuba gave a quiet chuckle as he sat back, his shoulders dropping from some sort of eased tension. Kudo blinked.

"Hakuba-san?"

"Don't worry about it, Kudo-san. Your business is your business. I won't say anything and I won't poke my nose where you don't want it."

Kudo gave a polite smile and raised an eyebrow... How the hell had he managed that?

Hakuba stood with the ease of someone more relaxed than when he'd entered. "If you really _were_ Kaitou Kid, then you would have three or four probable excuses lined up, all of them just plausible enough to be believable but strange enough that I would wish to investigate further." Hakuba picked up the file and handed it to Kudo. "I really do apologize for my outlandish behavior the other day."

Kudo took the folder and nodded, standing. Deep inside, Kaito was dancing for joy. He wasn't sure how he managed it, but if it kept Hakuba off Kudo's back, that was fine with him. He needed to send up some more thanks to Lady Luck.

"So, Kudo-san, did you see the news this evening?"

Grinning, Kudo shrugged. "I think I may have seen it. Given that the news segment you're referring to was on every channel, news or otherwise."

Kaito knew damn well what Hakuba was referring to. After all, he'd taken over the airwaves of all the Osakan channels to broadcast his challenge.

"_Attention mean-nasty-bad-person! You missed! While you prevented me from properly making off with the Birth of Spring, at 11:05pm on the evening of May sixth, I will have the Birth of Spring. You're welcome to try again and fail again. Oh, and tantei-han? With any luck you won't have such nasty distractions this time. Really, what is the world coming to? Such violence, tut, tut._"

"Will you be there, Kudo-san?"

To that, the Detective of the East sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I am meeting up with my parents at the airport tonight and heading out of the country." A casual shrug of the shoulders. "My father is avoiding his editors again and dragging me along this time."

Hakuba nodded. "I've heard of his reclusiveness."

"I suppose that I am unfortunately inheriting the condition. Goodbye, Hakuba-san."

They both bowed politely and Hakuba was even courteous enough to hold open the door for Kudo, all the better to not leave fingerprints or DNA as far as Kaito was concerned.

In the elevator, Kaito shed the blazer and opened up his button down shirt to an Engrish t-shirt and ruffled his hair to a more Kuroba-like appearance. A bright grin and a pair of glasses and nobody would ever have thought that he was Kudo Shinichi or Kuroba Kaito. In his pocket, Kaito turned off the recorder and popped out the tape. Jii would make sure that tantei-kun got it so that the little squirt wouldn't have to worry.

Kaito rubbed at his side, which was still aching with the bruised rib. He was definitely heading off to bed. After all, the following evening would be the heist.

* * *

It was early morning and Ran sat up in her bed, Shinichi in her lap, both of them going over the note that had been left by Kuroba. Somehow the thief had known that Kazuha and Hattori would respect the privacy and not open the note, which was a good thing, giving how incriminating the note really was. It was an apology for everything she and Shinichi had sacrificed in their decision to aide and abet an international thief. That he would give back what he could and he appreciated that they were willing to risk so much for him.

Ran put the note down again as Shinichi continued to fiddle with his glasses.

"Are they still too heavy?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "They're back to normal. I'm just... falling onto old habits, I guess."

"Oh?"

Shinichi shrugged, leaning back to her. "Paranoia. Did he put in a listening device like he did at my house when you were hospitalized, etc. He won't do anything to harm us, but..."

Ran hugged him closer. "Old habits die hard, right?" Shinichi nodded. "Have you tested all the functions?"

"All but the connection with your necklace. All are working normally. I haven't tested range or anything, but with the heist tonight, I don't have the time."

"I think we might want to make time," Ran replied, resting her chin on Shinichi's head. "While I'm certain Kuroba-kun knew what he was doing, I'd rather we didn't find out any problems in the middle of tonight's plans."

"Indeed," Shinichi agreed. They sat together for a moment, as the sun started to ever so slowly peek over the horizon. "Ran?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay with this?"

"With what, Shinichi?"

Shinichi squirmed a little in her lap, clearly uncomfortable with the subject he was trying to broach. "With Kuroba? Who he is? That I didn't tell you?"

She smiled, though he couldn't see it, and kissed the top of his head. She relished these quiet moments in the middle of the night or early morning, cherishing every moment she could spend with Shinichi _as_ Shinichi, not the Conan mask he wore, though Conan was so adorable she knew she'd miss him some day. But that was a thought for another day. That thought of losing Conan or never having Shinichi as Shinichi again was something that was permeating her worst nightmares. Golden Week had been too chaotic to fumble through the complex knot of feelings that Shinichi's predicament left. She was still working through it, and it would take time. But not now.

Back to Shinichi's question.

"I will admit, I'm rather surprised that Kuroba-kun is who he is," she replied. "But now it makes sense why you want me to talk to Aoko-chan about secrets." Ran settled her cheek against Shinichi's soft hair. "She's going to have to find out one day, if those two are going to have a chance."

The not-child in her arms nodded. "Much like I knew that one day I would have to tell you about me. But if Kuroba is anything like me, putting it off is infinitely preferable to facing it. Especially when you're dead certain that you _know_ how they're going to react."

Ran gave a soft chuckle. "You'd probably have been right about my reactions, but my discovery had a lot of mitigating circumstances."

Shinichi snorted. "Mitigating circumstances I'd rather you didn't go through. I _never_ want you in danger."

She swatted at him. "While I don't like how everything occurred, I'm glad it happened. Now I'm able to help you, even if it is pitiful how little I can do."

He looked up, twisting around to look straight to her eyes. "Ran. You really have no idea how much just being able to be _me_ is helpful."

She hugged him closer again. "In answer to your question, I don't know how I feel yet about Kuroba-kun and what he does. It still needs to sink in. I've seen how he looks at Aoko-chan and now I fully understand what it is that I'm preparing her for. It's a little... Overwhelming."

He nodded.

"The similarities between their situation and ours are rather... sharp."

"And painful?" he asked.

"Sort of. It's like I have an outsider's perspective on our situation, but that's not quite right. I feel for Aoko-chan. And after listening to Kuroba-kun, I feel for him as well. Neither of them can have anything as things stand, but Kuroba-kun certainly wants to grasp it someday. I think Aoko-chan is starting to notice things, but she's not aware of it yet."

Shinichi snorted. "I'll leave the interpersonal stuff to you. I'm not qualified."

Ran laughed.

"But you realize that by us keeping quiet, we're breaking the law? That there might be a time where we become accomplices in his night job?"

That sobered her. Shinichi really was looking at the big picture and anticipating future possibilities. Ran was the first to admit, helping Shinichi hide as Edogawa Conan was probably breaking the law, at least in terms of fake identities and such. Keeping quiet about Kuroba being Kaitou Kid was unlikely to harm them, because really, who would believe that they knew? But it was still breaking the law. And if Shinichi was right, there really _might_ be a time where their friendship dragged them into a heist not as pursuers, but as help.

That was a little bit more than she was really ready to deal with at the moment. Shinichi had had time to become accustomed and to think ahead. It was like Ran was back to being in the hospital, waking up to remember that Shinichi and Conan were one in the same. It was so much to deal with at once.

"I... I need some time to think about that," she mumbled. Time to consider where her morals and ethics would lay because being the friend of Kaitou Kid was undoubtedly going to be highly complicated. Kaitou Kid was, after all, anything but straightforward.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm rushing things."

"No, it needs to be said," she replied. "Better to be aware of what we're getting into than to stumble in blind."

"'We'," he repeated. "I really like hearing that. 'We'."

Ran chuckled again. "So, are there any other secrets-that-aren't-yours-to-tell that I should know about?"

This time Shinichi gave a dry chuckle. "Not that I'm aware of. You now know about Haibara and Kuroba. Unless Mitsuhiko or Ayumi or Genta are hiding some sort of double life, I think that should settle about everything."

"Good." Ran hesitated a moment. "I understand why you wouldn't tell me about either of them, but the reminders of secrets still... stings."

"I understand."

No doubt he did. She had seen how keeping the secrets hurt him just as much as her. She hugged him close again. The hug wasn't just to reassure him, she knew. She had been clinging to him since Kuroba, dressed as Shinichi, had appeared with a bullet hole in his side. The image was sharp and clear and horrible. So Ran kept holding the real Shinichi close, in her own reassurance that Shinichi was alive, whole, and well.

"So," he said with a small yawn. "Today we should test ranges and make sure everything is in working order and get ready for tonight's heist."

"Yes," she agreed. "Now off to bed with you."

Shinichi gave a sleepy nod and pulled out of her embrace with some reluctance before heading back to the room he shared with Kogoro. Really, Ran wondered _how_ they were always able to hide Kuroba from her father. (Of course, that her father had usually been out during the days bugging Inspector Nakamori about the heist probably had something to do with it...)

Ran was surprised when, once she was buried under the covers again, her cell phone started vibrating on her nightstand. Wondering who would be calling her at this hour, she yawned as she answered.

"Mouri Ran speaking," she mumbled, wanting very badly to just go back to sleep.

"Ran-san," the voice on the other end was altered. She sat up wide awake. "I understand that you have a burgeoning interest in electronic communication."

"Who are you?" she hissed. "How did you get my number?"

"Aaaaah, sorry, sorry," the voice apologized. "A mutual friend gave it to me. Someone you know both names of."

Ran blinked. Both names? The only people she knew of with two names were Shinichi and Haibara. And Kuroba. "Forgive me," she replied neutrally, "but I know a few people with multiple names. You'll have to be a bit more specific than that." Because if it was someone that Haibara knew... She didn't want to think about it...

"Very good, Ran-san," the voice sounded quite pleased. "The Young Master was right in saying that you'd be a good student."

Young Master? That didn't clarify anything at all!

"I'm waiting for specifics," she replied coolly.

"Well, I can tell you that you parted company with him about thirty-six hours ago?"

One of Kuroba's accomplices then. "Student?" she asked, wondering what Kuroba was cooking up.

"Why, I understand that you have a very interesting digital communication device that the Young Master was quite impressed with. Aside from getting the frequency, he didn't have the time to crack the encryption."

Ran narrowed her eyes. So Kuroba could listen in on her and Shinichi's private wavelength? But he wouldn't understand it. "Your point being?"

The voice was calm and precise. "If you want to be any good at keeping up with that child running around hither and yon, you'll need to be able to follow him not just by your little device, but by cameras and any other device you can access."

"And our mutual friend thought you should teach me?"

"Yes. This is entirely your decision, of course."

"Of course."

"I doubt you can make up your mind now. Tonight, I will give you some basics. You can tell me if you wish to continue or not. If it doesn't match up with your regular line of work, you won't hear from me again. If you ever wish to continue, speak to our mutual friend and we'll get started."

The line went dead and Ran stared at her phone. Lessons? In hacking into security surveillance? Lessons in breaking the law? She shuddered under the possibilities that brought to mind. A demonstration lesson at the heist? Really, when would she need to know electronic surveillance outside of visiting heists?

All too readily an image came to her mind. An image of _Them_ observing her or Shinichi or Hattori or Kazuha or the children or Aoko or...

Ran shuddered again and buried herself under her covers.

She had a lot to think about...

* * *

Heiji was getting annoyed. He had been deep asleep, but there was this sound that kept waking him up. At first his instinct said it was his alarm, and he'd fumbled to turn it off, but nothing happened. As the noise continued and Heiji rose further and further out of the depths of sleep, he realized that it didn't sound like his alarm at all. So he buried his head under his pillow in hopes of blocking out the tapping so that he could go back to sleep. His circadian rhythm was very screwed up, thank-you-very-much, and with the promise of another heist tomorrow/that day, Heiji wanted to sneak in as much pillow time as he could so that maybe, just maybe, he could be back on a normal sleep schedule when school started back up again.

But the tapping didn't go away.

So with a massive, put-upon groan, he poked his head out from under his pillow and covers and blearily looked around to ascertain what was interrupting his snooze time. Nothing in his room seemed to be amiss and the early dawn light was starting to stream in through his blinds. Blinking, Heiji squinted towards his window, where a shadow seemed to be blocking part of the morning light.

A grumble and fumble out of bed later, he opened his blinds to see what was obscuring the sunlight. A balloon? A familiar balloon...

Heiji couldn't open his window fast enough as he reached out and yanked it off the branch it was tied to. The same branch as last time, to be exact. Almost the exact same spot.

Hands trembling, he looked at the package that was with the balloon this time. It wasn't a heist note; unsurprising, giving Kid-Kuroba's televised challenge the previous day not only to Heiji, but primarily to his would-be attacker. Heiji attacked the package, ripping it apart and turning on the light in his room to get a better look at it. Inside were two things. The first was very clearly labeled "Tantei-kun Only" with smaller writing underneath that read "Peaking is Cheating". Heiji scoffed, tossing the small item to his bed. What _really_ was interesting him was the file underneath; because it was also labeled very clearly. "Tantei-han Only" with smaller print underneath, "Sharing is Caring".

Flipping open the file, Heiji sucked in a breath sharply. "_Itotsuki Katsumaru, 37. Best known for corporate espionage and thievery, specializing in electronic communication, hacking, and misdirection_." The file went on with a photo of the would-be attacker that Kid had challenged. Slightly portly, unassuming with short black hair, and haven't-shaved-in-a-few-days scruff around his chin. And the _information_. Aliases, known and suspected cases of involvement, with the former being much shorter than the later.

This was... This was... Wow.

Kid had contacted his own contacts and done what the Osakan police and Interpol had been unable to in such a short time. Narrow it down to find out just _who_ the interloper was. And Kid-Kuroba had given it to Heiji. He took a moment to process that. He knew that Kid wasn't so bad when he'd disappeared on Kazuha, leaving just enough doubt so that if Kudo ever had to reveal the _rest_ of his baggage to her, there wouldn't be a further explosion, since all the blame would be at Kid's feet. But this wasn't just paying back for them taking care of the thief.

This was sharing of information.

Heiji _really_ didn't want to think about what that could lead to and what morals or ethics he'd have to compromise if he walked down that path. For now, he'd take what was given him. He scrambled around his room to get dressed. No doubt Nakamori would be arriving at the station early to start doing set up. The owner of the Birth of Spring had called to say where he'd hid the _real_ jewel and promised that he wouldn't replace it with a fake this time. Nakamori and Heiji's own father would probably be stepping on each other's toes most of the day to ensure that nothing went wrong this time. But Heiji was about to _ensure_ that, because he'd make sure everyone on-site would know who they were looking for and take the necessary preparations to ensure that this Itotsuki wouldn't meddle in their communications.

Still hopping into his socks as he thundered downstairs, Heiji slipped Kudo's gift into his pocket, planning on dropping it off later. Only taking the time to down a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice, Heiji raced around downstairs, grabbing a jacket and trying to think of what else he'd need because his day was about to get real crazy, real fast.

He almost jumped into his shoes, file in hand, when his mother's voice called from the top of the stairs.

"Y're in a rush this mornin'."

"Sorry," he called back, stepping toward the door. "Hiest's tonight 'n' there's a lotta stuff ta do." He opened the door, ready to step out for the day.

"Well," his mother replied, "I think ya've got enough time fer a _decent_ breakfast, don't ya?"

Heiji, his back to his mother, scowled. He could disobey his father without batting an eye, though his gut always twinged, but he could never disobey his mother like that. Damn it. He'd wanted to avoid his old man, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen...

With a sigh, Heiji stepped out of his shoes and followed his mother into the kitchen where she started to make breakfast. From scratch. _She's gonna make me wait 'til th' old man comes down so's we can talk. Yay_. Heiji let out another sigh. Sure enough, he could hear the shower going on upstairs, which meant that his father was up and getting ready for the day. If it weren't for the fact that his mother was there, Heiji would have started growling.

"So, do ya plan ta spend the day with Kazuha-chan again?" his mother asked quietly.

Heiji slouched back, crossing his arms. "Don't know. I'm definitely gonna stop off 'n' talk with Mouri-han 'bout the heist tonight, but mostly I wanna help the station prepare."

"Oh?" she asked, pouring out tea and setting out plates.

"Yeah," he replied, not really wanting to elaborate. Especially since, by his estimation...

"Good mornin'," his father, the great Hattori Heizo said, coming into the kitchen, dressed and ready for a normal day at work.

"Good mornin'," his mother replied with a proper bow and the slightest of smiles.

"Yo," Heiji offered, not liking all the formality.

"Son," Heizo replied. "Ya certainly have energy this mornin'."

"I'm young. I'm supposed ta have a lotta energy."

"Dearest," his mother said softly.

Heizo said nothing for a moment, merely sipping his tea. "Y're notes were extensive 'n' very helpful." The stern man reached into a pocket and pulled out the three crumpled pages that Heiji had thrown at his feet five days previously. That seemed like a lifetime ago, back after the first heist when he'd been running on no sleep.

Heiji didn't say anything, merely took the notes back and stuffed them into a pocket. Just because he had been _right_ didn't give his father the right to demand them. Heiji held to the line his father had drawn between amateur detective and professional officer. He did what he could as a consultant, followed every rule placed down on how he was to work with his father's officers, but to have the Great Heizo demand his notes... Heizo would be justified in demanding the notes of any officer under him, but he never did, trusting them. To demand the notebook of Heiji, who _wasn't_ an officer under him, crossed the line that Heizo himself had drawn.

And if Heizo thought that _that_ was an adequate peace offering, he had another thing coming.

He ate his breakfast slowly and properly, as his mother expected. But he said nothing.

"May I ask what that file is, son?"

"No," Heiji replied politely. "It ain't none o' yer business."

Heizo looked sternly at his son. Heiji glared back.

His mother Shizuka, however, gave a small cough.

Heiji let out a sigh. "Y'll find out later," he said, gulping the last of his tea before standing. "'Scuse me, I gotta lotta work ta do." And with a calmness he didn't feel, Heiji quietly left his house to go talk to Inspector Nakamori.

* * *

As it turned out, the Birth of Spring had never left the Umeda Sky Building. Instead of being on display with all the other items of the collection, it had been hidden deep under the building in the maze of shops underground. Another concession the collector did at the suggestion of his accountant. (Said accountant was currently fired because of the disaster that he'd guided the collector into.) However, given the information that Hattori had provided to both the Task Force and the local police, everyone agreed that rather than moving the Birth of Spring up to where it was supposed to be displayed, it should be kept underground to increase interference from electrical devices such as cell phones, which Itotsuki preferred using when doing his espionage work.

Every member had a specific set of passwords to use whenever calling or checking in that were then rotated. That way if, say, Hakuba wished to speak to Inspector Nakamori over the radio, he'd have to give his fourth password. If he wished to speak to Mouri, he'd have to give his seventh password. And at random, someone would go over the entire broadband and ask for them to rotate their passwords. It was complicated and they'd been practicing at the station for most of the day to ensure that Itotsuki would have difficulty in relaying false orders to someone.

This was actually quite clever. But Hakuba had suspicions. How had Hattori mysteriously come up with this file on who the interloper was? Something seemed off. But Hakuba didn't think he'd get anywhere if he questioned Hattori outright. He'd tried to subtly have some of the Task Force members ask, but the response seemed to be that Kaitou Kid had delivered it the same way he'd delivered the invitation to the heist.

But that didn't ring true for Hakuba. Why would Kaitou Kid give such precious information to Hattori of all people? Hattori wasn't one of Kid's regular chasers. In fact, several members of the Osakan police were boasting how this whole heist was a gift from Kid to Hattori, but for what? And since Hakuba couldn't ask Hattori directly (not without turning five shades of red) he was discreetly staying near the Detective of the West. That way, if something happened during the heist, he'd be nearby to observe.

It was still an hour to the proposed time of the heist. Hakuba snorted; 11:05 indeed, the inverse of 1:05 for the _v_ referenced in the first note. Did Kaitou Kid think that by simply inversing the time, he'd reverse the results of the heist?

"Hakuba-kun! Hattori-kun!"

Hakuba blinked, turning to see Aoko coming over with Toyama. The British detective hid a grimace. _Please, God in Heaven, don't let Toyama-san mention my atrocious display in front of Aoko-kun_...

"Oi, Kazuha!" Hattori seemed to growl as he too stalked over. "What're ya doin' here?"

Toyama glared at Hattori. "I ain't bein' left out."

"Kazuha..."

"Don't bother talkin' me outta this. It'd be like Kudo talkin' Ran outta not helpin' him."

Hattori gave a sigh.

Hakuba tried to ignore them and not blush at the same time. "Aoko-kun, what brings you here?"

She held up a large basket. "Last minute snacks for everyone. Once things get going, they'll probably need the sugar boost," she said. "Cookie? Pastry? Plain-old bread?"

Hakuba gave a small grin. "Bread would be fine, thank you," he replied, since anything heavier, especially with Hattori glaring at him every once in a while, would probably upset his stomach.

"Hattori-kun?" Aoko offered.

The Osakan detective snatched a cookie and gobbled it in one bite before turning back to Toyama. "You really wanna help? Go help Nee-chan. She's in th' surveillance truck street-side keepin' an eye 'n everythin' 'n' relayin' stuff."

Toyama glared. "Keepin' me outta things?"

Hattori rolled his eyes. "_No_, I'm _not_. Unless ya think ya can't spot nothin' on those tiny screens."

Predictably, Toyama bristled. "I'll show _you_ who can't see anythin'!" Turning on her heel, the Osakan girl grabbed Aoko by the arm. "C'mon! We'll show these big strong men just _who_ they're dealin' with!"

They were interrupted in their stomping away by a figure who slipped through the crowds and hid behind Aoko.

"Kaito?" Aoko asked, puzzled.

"Kuroba-kun," Hakuba replied coolly. "Interested in the heist?" Beside him, Hattori was sputtering.

"Hell yes!" Kuroba retorted, looking around warily. "But I'm also hiding."

Aoko gave the tired sigh of one used to dealing with Kuroba. "Hiding from what?"

"Those damn relatives." He looked around suspiciously again, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out...

"A straight-jacket?" Toyama asked, utterly befuddled.

"Yup. They want me to try and wiggle out of one again. I'm hiding here. What better place to get away than a Kaitou Kid heist? I get to watch a master magician in action, avoid relatives in this chaos, and see you and Hakuba. It's a win-win all around."

Hattori was still sputtering.

"Wait," Toyama said, clearly trying to catch up. "You're a Kaitou Kid fan?"

"And how," Aoko grumbled. "You should see the card-gun replica he made. He even made a really good looking Kaitou Kid costume during a skiing contest our class was having." Oh Hakuba was sure it was just a costume. Really he was. Absolutely positive.

"S-s-so," Hattori stuttered, "This g-g-guy... wants to be Kid?"

"You betcha!" Kuroba replied brightly, standing tall and proud. "Someday I'll be just as good a magician! Maybe even better!"

The Osakan detective gave a great grin and slapped a hand down on Kuroba's shoulder. "In that case, ya might's well get used t' bein' _called_ Kid, right Kid?"

Kuroba stared, blank-faced for a moment before a big grin came to his face. "You mean use 'Kid' in my stage name? Now that might work! Tell me, what do you think of 'Magic Kid' or 'Kid Sorcerer' or 'Kid Kaitou'? Hmmm, I'll need to think about this." He whirled to Aoko. "What do you think?" he asked. "Is 'Kid Kaitou' too obvious of an homage?"

"Kid," Hattori growled, "aren't ya supposed ta be hidin'?"

Kuroba went pale and quickly glanced around. "Shit!" he hissed. "There's the worst of the bunch! I gotta run!" Staying low, he flitted back through the crowds, heading for the stairs leading out of the building.

Hakuba was tempted to follow, but Aoko seemed to catch the look in his eyes. "No way, Hakuba-kun. You have work to do, so don't your bother chasing Kaito around."

Toyama glared at Hakuba. "I'm guessin' this guy's got no manners?"

_Retreat!_

"Usually, but never when it comes to Kaito..."

Hakuba noticed that Hattori was wandering away with a smug little grin and decided that it was a good time to go back to shadowing the Western Detective.

* * *

Ran sat in the front seat of the surveillance truck, her laptop out and patched in to the monitors that were behind her. She had called Kuroba and left a message with a specific number for his chosen tutor to contact her (not her cell phone). Hidden behind her hair was a rather gaudy earring that had a built in phone, something that Professor Agasa had made some time before. She had first used it when she ended up being the one to solve a case where a teacher she believed in had unfortunately ended up being the murder. Over the phone, Shinichi had been a wonderful shoulder to lean on, but it had been Conan whom she'd ultimately broken down with. Little did she know at the time that she was still relying on the same person.

The earring phone was actually rarely used, but it was _because_ it was rarely used that she wanted her would-be teacher to contact her through it. Which he did. The voice over the phone was no longer modified. Or at least, not so obviously modified. It sounded like an older man, most likely past middle-age. Shinichi could probably deduce more from the voice, but he wasn't there. He was out mingling amongst the legs of many adults, looking for the face of Itotsuki.

"Very good, Ran-san," the old man said over the phone. "How is that software I emailed you working?"

"It's working very well, Ojii-san," she replied. "The facial recognition is already running, but I'm worried about if our man comes in wearing a disguise. Even something as simple as a beard might make him unrecognizable."

"Just Jii will suffice," the voice replied with an amused chuckle. "And don't worry, it will take more than just a beard and a pair of glasses to fool this program."

"If you say so, Jii-san." Ran hesitated a moment. "Won't software like this also recognize other people if told? Such as the mysterious thief of this evening?"

Jii laughed even more. "The Young Master will not be so easily recognized. Don't you worry, Ran-san. Our friend is quite safe."

She smiled, still rather uncertain how she felt about actively making sure that Kaitou Kid was safe.

"Conan-kun? Hattori-kun?" she said into the Detective Badge she held. "Am I coming in clear?"

"You betcha, Nee-chan."

"Of course, Ran."

"Oh-ho!" her would-be tutor laughed. "I see you have communication with some people in the field on a different band that our target can't access!"

Ran smiled. "Trade secrets," she replied. "Now, about-"

"There ya are, Ran-chan!"

Ran turned, surprised to see two people climbing into the back of the surveillance van.

"Kazuha-chan! Aoko-chan! What a surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you here."

The Osakan girl glanced at Aoko from the corner of her eye and shrugged. "After everythin's been happenin' the last few days, ya couldn' keep me from this."

Ran nodded. Now that Kazuha knew, or at least partly knew, she wasn't just going to sit back and do nothing.

Aoko just sighed. "I didn't really have anything better to do," she mumbled. And Ran understood. Aoko had been left alone for a good portion of Golden Week, so being in the middle of the action with her friends seemed a no-brainer.

"Aoko-chan? Are you feeling any better?" Ran asked as the two sat down in front of the monitors in the back of the van.

The girl gave a bark of laughter. "Would you believe that not an hour after I left you and Conan-kun, I finally got my period? I _knew_ I was due with how weepy I've been all week."

Kazuha nodded sagely behind her. "Once inna while the cramps hit me so hard I can hardly _move_." The Osakan reached for her purse. "Didja need any spare tampons? I think I gotta few."

Ran tried not to react to the sputtering noises she was hearing over her earring cell phone.

"No," Aoko shook her head. "I flow too heavily for a tampon. I _have_ to have a pad."

"Aw, I'd hate it if I couldn' have a tampon. All o' my akido gear'd be stained."

Aoko gave a light chuckle. "My mom was the same way apparently. Or at least when I can bully my dad into talking about it."

"Oh?" Ran couldn't help but ask, especially with the old man choking.

"Yeah, my mom died when I was really young," Aoko explained. "I was petrified when I got my first period. My dad _tried_ to explain it, he really did, but he couldn't get any words out right at all. Finally he dragged me next door and had Kaito's mother explain things to me. It's a good thing she did! I was petrified that I was dying with all the bleeding!"

Ran laughed. "I know what you mean. My father at least had the good sense to call my mother when I got my first period. She came right over and kicked my dad out of the apartment and sat me down to explain a few things. Thank _God_ Shinichi was away with his family at the time. When he came back, he started to notice I was a little different once a month and when I explained it to him, he got _so red_."

Aoko giggled. "Kaito too, but then, he got the facts of life at the same time as me. His mother thought it'd be a good idea that since she had to explain things to me, she'd explain things to him too. She tried to get my dad to explain things, but he was so flustered by that point, he couldn't do anything."

"Heh," Kazuha laughed. "I guess I got th' lucky straw. I just talked ta m' mom and everythin' was fine."

They all laughed together. Over her earring, the old man was mumbling, "Ran-san... please... give an old man a break... men aren't supposed to hear woman-talk..."

With one last chuckle, Ran decided to give her tutor a break. "Ladies," she said. "I've been watching the monitors the whole time, have you?"

"Ah!" Kazuha groaned. "'n' I _told_ Heiji I'd find somethin' fer him."

"Then pay attention please," Ran gently chided. "Do you see on camera three that person skulking about?"

A moment of study and...

"Oh that's Kaito. He's hiding from his relatives," Aoko offered before delving into the tale that Kuroba had painted for her about his disappearance for most of Golden Week. (Ran laughed outright on how the smallest dog was apparently the most dangerous...)

They chatted together as they kept an eye out on the surveillance video. The old man would guide Ran through some of the finer points of the spying she was doing and she set up a chat window to ask questions more directly since she couldn't speak them aloud. This Jii-san was incredibly informative; already, in the back of her mind, Ran was thinking of ways to apply what she was learning to her home, if she could get the right tools. Ways to make certain that she and her family and Shinichi were safe.

"Ran-san, you are an excellent pupil," he complimented her. "I'll be sure to contact you again, if you are interested."

"_I'll look forward to it_," she typed back. But for now, her focus remained on the screen and looking for the face of an interloper.

"Aoko-chan, ya seein' what I'm seein'?"

"I'm not sure, Kazuha-chan. Ran-chan? Camera twelve?"

Ran poked her facial recognition software to look at the feed before gasping.

"Conan-kun! Hattori-kun! We've found him!"

Meanwhile, on camera one, there was a flood of pink smoke, happily engulfing everything as a cheerful voice proclaimed, "Ladies and Gentleman!"

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: Bleh! This took forever to write. The main problem being that we're writing the last chapters in the last two weeks of summer before school starts and we're back to teaching. (ie: No Free Time). So there is a lot of last-minute things we're trying to finish up (sealing/patching the driveway, sorting through curriculum, finishing _other_ projects that we've been trying to finish, etc) and time for typing was proving to be elusive.

But anyway.

We're not sure _where_ it came from, but the whole talk between Kaito-as-Shinichi and Hakuba just seems to... work _really_ well. We weren't planning on it originally, but when trying to approach this chapter, Kaito just jumped in and said, "this is what's going to happen" calm as you please. Okay, so there it is. Covering the bases after Hakuba's discovery of "Kudo" at the Toyama household. Hehehe. We enjoy rereading that.

Heiji semi-resolved his storyline with his father. They still have a rocky relationship, and this story certainly didn't help matters, but Heiji has a lot to prove to his dad. And Heizo needs to stop being such a hard-ass, but anyway.

The two of us really see Ran trying to keep actively involved with Conan-kun once she knows. With the necklace and the advent of some of the gadgets that Agasa-hakase can generate, we see her starting to work with computers to do what she can that way. Jii-chan teaching her some of the ins-and-outs seems a natural progression of that, since she doesn't really have anyone to properly train her otherwise. How far in this sort of training she's willing to go is a question mark. For both Ran and Heiji, there're a lot of questions on where their morals and ethics lie with regards to anything about Kaitou Kid. Shinichi, as mentioned, has had time to sit and think about it and what could or might happen. He's already dealt with it and he sees himself as already breaking the law. As long as he can still stand what he's doing, he'll be okay, but Ran and Heiji haven't thought about it yet.

Yes, yes, we promised a heist. Well, it's started... right?

...A lot of you seemed to have Great Expectations about the glasses... Sorry if we disappointed. The main issue with them were that they were so heavy. Kaito made them more normal-weighted. He can listen in but not understand in case of something. It's up to Ran/Shinichi/Agasa on whether or not he gets the encryption.

*ahem* Next time: The Heist. (Really, need we say more?)


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Fourteen**

Nakamori had growled deep in his throat when he'd learned where the freakin' accountant had hid the jewel. The basement of the Umeda Sky Building was a restaurant mall, designed in the romanticized Taisho Era - called the Roaring Twenties over in America, in Japan it was a time when a kimono and a business suit walked side by side; when Japan found foreigners fashionable and quaint, while foreigners found the Japanese charming and quaint, when the old world was still mixed with the new and living in (near) perfect harmony. He spat at the idea on principal; he hated over-fantasized shit like that, and he hated the Takimi-koji restaurant mall even more because the entire floor was ideal for the free-wheeling thief: narrow streets and allies, low ceilings, dim "atmospheric" lighting and _too many ways_ for the damn thief to sneak in and out.

He bit on his pipe even more.

The added complication of having a secondary target made life all the more _enjoyable_ for Nakamori; the public (and egotistical) challenge for the Interpol interloper to butt in again and try to shoot him again made planning for the heist even more difficult - because now he was accountable for the _safety_ of everyone around him in those goddamn narrow streets and allies and low ceilings. The only saving grace was that the ass of an accountant was fired - no snipers at least, but that didn't necessarily mean no more danger.

"Mr. Collector," Nakamori moaned, rubbing a hand to his temple and looking at his foreign client who had just gotten back from a phone call, "It would be much easier to ensure your safety if you weren't here."

"Inspector Nakamori," the collector replied, his accent heavy but not incomprehensible, "If I were here in the first place, then perhaps this honor would have turned out less duplicitous."

Props for knowing that word in Japanese, but showing off was not helping Nakamori. At all.

"Besides, I think I owe it to Kid the Phantom Thief - if for no other reason - to personally apologize to him for the disaster that came of his piece of art."

"You make it sound like grand larceny is a respectable profession," the inspector groaned under his breath. He cursed thrice over when the collector heard him and answered.

"I hardly find the _theft_ respectable, Inspector Nakamori, but even you can't deny that Kid the Phantom Thief has _style_. There are few people indeed who would so boldly announce their theft and then make a _show_ of it. That kind of grand thinking is rare, particularly in a conformist country like this, don't you think?" Nakamori worked hard to bite down a curse, wanting instead to save his irritation at the unintended insult and redirect it to Kid. "Of course," the collector added, the polite grin on his face becoming much more confident and flagrant, his stance changing, his shoulder's broadening. "That is what Mr. Collector said. I personally don't think this country is overly conformist; if it weren't, people like you and Hakuba wouldn't have come up the ranks to try and stop me, would they?"

Realization was dawning as there was a giant puff of pink smoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

And there, in the center of the smoke where the collector used to be, was Kaitou Kid.

"Hello Inspector," Kid said in his irritatingly mild tones, "I hope you're doing well tonight."

"You +_)(!~*&%$#!" He lunged.

One of the characteristics of Kid that was most annoying to the Task Force was his intangibility. No amount of lunging and thrusting and groping and grabbing ever resulted in laying a finger on the thief. One officer, a practitioner of martial arts, said he moved like water, like he had no bones to keep him rigid in any way. Kid had a natural (trained?) flexibility that made touching him impossible; even his cape was made of some kind of silken material that was slippery to the touch, and it was about the only thing that any Task Force member ever had the chance of getting.

Even as Kid seamlessly slid around Nakamori and about a dozen other officers, however, the Inspector did notice at least one thing: the suit was different. His realization of that was strong enough to make him pause, because in all the years he'd worked the Kid case, the thief had always, _always_, worn the same immaculate white suit, tailored and custom fitted no doubt with hundreds of secret pockets and seams. This one was a different cut, a little thick around the torso, and just _different_.

Kid, now crouched on the overhang of a storefront (a feat given he only had at best eight or nine inches before the sign blocked him from more purchase), looked down on all the officers under him, his hat low on his head and his monocle nearly hidden from view. "You all look relieved," he said brightly, not a hint of remorse in his voice. "Except you Inspector, you look downright scared. Was it something I said?"

Nakamori quite nearly saw red. Scratch that, he did see red. "You %*&#$#%! You fall off the building and disappear and now you show up in a new $&*#$#* suit after challenging some rat ^*$#(&* to _come and shoot you again_ and you think it was _something you said_?"

Kid actually straightened, slightly, as if surprised, and tugged curiously at the lapel of his white suit. "Was it that obvious?" he asked, almost like a child that had been caught. "My suit's at the dry cleaners, Inspector," he said in a singsong voice. "As you can imagine, some of the stains were a little hard to wash out."

Nakamori only seethed more, though this time not at Kid. "Stains that didn't wash out" in Kaitou language meant "blood," and it was about as close to an admission that Kid would ever give that he'd been hurt those lifetime of nights ago.

"But I'd rather not bore you with the trivialities of my laundry," Kid continued, letting go of his lapel. He stood, a hard task given he had very little clearance. "I only came out because I know tantei-han is about to take out the bad guy. Give him my thanks when you catch up to him. In the meantime, let's get on with the heist, shall we?"

There was another puff of smoke, and Kid was gone.

Nakamori could only do one thing.

"After him!"

* * *

"Nee-chan, where is he?" Heiji demanded. He was running full tilt down the black tiled "roads" of the mall; surprising himself when his well worn sneakers skid across the shiny tiles, making him reflexively pull out an arm to brace himself before he slammed into the corner or a store front, instead bending into the hit and using his arm to propel him down the next alley.

"Down two more, uh, blocks and hook a left," Ran said over the pin. "Looks like a grey sports jacket and dark pants."

Heiji let go of the pin and did as told. A quick glance over his shoulder showed him that Hakuba was still chasing after him. The Osakan growled on principal, shouting over his shoulder. "I got this, ya bastard; stay outta my way!"

The blond said nothing, still in pursuit, and Heiji decided to patently ignore him.

Hooking his left, he saw Itotsuki right where Ran had placed him. He was shorter than Heiji had surmised, anyone that had the balls to try and shoot at Kaitou Kid had to be six feet tall and built like a barn, but Itotsuki was at least a head shorter than him, heavy set and just scruffy looking. He did not belie the white-collar crime he partook in. The man was hunched over a dufflebag, hand half in it.

"Itotsuki," Heiji said slowly after a deep breath. His bokken was in his hand casually, but ready to be used if necessary. "Nice ta see ya face ta face."

"And you are?" he asked, his brown eyes narrow.

"Hattori Heiji," he replied, equally as calculating. "The dead weight runnin' up behind me is Hakuba Saguru."

Itotsuki glanced at the blond that had arrived, working to put his breath back under control. "The prodigal sons," he said lightly. "I'm surprised Kudo Shinichi isn't with you, it'd make the teenage trio of detectives complete."

Heiji's shoulders stiffened but showed no other sign of stress at Kudo's name. "Don't need Kudo fer this," Heiji replied, full of bravado. "Don't even need Hakuba, but he likes ta make a nuisance of himself."

"Arrogant," Itotsuki said slowly, still crouched over the duffle bag. Heiji kept himself ready, not knowing what was inside.

"Ya try ta commit murder in _my_ city and ya think I won't take offense?" Heiji asked, shifting his weight slightly. If there was any kind of weapon, dead weight or not, he'd shove Hakuba out of the line of fire.

"As a point of curiosity, how did you know it was me?" the culprit asked. Heiji knew a stall when he heard one, and his green eyes narrowed. He was stalling too, for all his boasting he didn't have the authority to arrest the bastard, and he was trying to vie for time until the cops did show (assuming they weren't completely enamored with the Kid heist; but Heizo had better control over his men than that). The question was what Itotsuki was stalling for. He felt a trail of sweat trickle down his temple as he assessed the duffle bag again. Timed explosion? A little too theatric for someone who worked behind the scenes, and certainly suicidal, but if there was one thing Kudo had taught him it was that desperate people did desperate things when backed into a corner. More likely it was some kind of electronic something-or-other, part of a plan on how he would interfere with tonight's heist. Unable to tell for certain, Heiji answered the question.

"It didn't take much," he said easily. "Ya like to leave a signature when you're interferin' with electronics. Interpol's had its eye on ya fer a while now." An exaggeration, perhaps, but Itotsuki needn't know that. "But ya gotta give credit where credit's due," Heiji continued. "Kid was th' one ta give us yer name."

The scruffy man's eyes widened slightly, not expecting that nugget of information.

"His resources are larger than I imagined, then," Itotsuki said softly, more to himself than to Heiji.

The blond interjected, stepping up parallel to Heiji. "Why did you do it, Itotsuki?" he demanded, his eyes cold. Heiji snarled in his mind at the trademark question.

The communications expert stood easily, though Heiji noticed his hands were curled, making hard to see if he was hiding something in them or not. A kill switch of some kind?

"You know," the short man said, leaning on one foot so the other could cross it. "People in my line of work have certain protocols, decorum, rules if you will, that one has to maintain. Client privacy, for example. Good work for good money, for another. One of the prime directives for a professional like myself is stealth; the ability to sneak in and out as one will sans detection is quite a selling point. Kaitou Kid," he slurred the name like a curse. "He's an obstinate and flagrant albatross to all those protocols. He arrogantly announces his work and carries it out in the most outlandish and clownish - downright cartoonish manner possible. He's not a thief, he's a giddy attention-seeking adrenaline junkie."

Heiji couldn't help the snort. "Ain't that the truth," he drawled. _Both in an' out of costume_. He still eyed the man's hands, trying to see if there was anything in them.

"That ingrate is an insult to the profession," Itotsuki continued. "I've been waiting for a chance to take him down a peg since he came out of hiding, but he seems to have taken a cotton to Japan for some reason, so I had to wait until I had a job here. Imagine my pleasure when he announced the heist just as I was finishing up. It was too perfect to pass it up."

"It's just a professional grudge? You're doin' all this fer somethin' as stupid as that?" Heiji almost laughed. "Of all th' stupid reason's ta get someone? You're an ahou." He lifted his bokken. "We've been stallin' long enough," he continued. Hakuba, still at his side, had glanced at him, having heard something from his earpiece. "Why don't ya make it easy fer yerself?"

Heiji's gaze filtered down to the duffle bag again, still trying to - wait, that wasn't a bomb, that was electronics. The kill switch, it was... His eyes widened.

"You're right," Itotsuki was saying. "Let's make things easier."

Heiji grabbed his pin. "Kazuha! Take off th' earpiece _now_!"

Itotsuki showed his hand, it wasn't a switch, it was a remote, and Heiji had only made half a step before he pressed a button on the remote.

That was when chaos exploded everywhere. Even after ripping his own earpiece, he wasn't spared from hearing the ultra-high pitched shriek that was going across all the police bands. It pierced everything, and he watched Hakuba crumple, hands clutching his head even as he ripped his own earpiece out. Itotsuki grabbed the duffle bag, slinging it over a shoulder and racing towards them. Heiji stepped forward, taking a martial stance; but for his overweight and scruffy appearance, he seemed to know a thing or two on how to move, because he dodged under Heiji's swing and kicked at Hakuba in one motion.

"I wonder how many are bleeding from their ears," the culprit called over his shoulder.

... Was it possible to bleed because of noise? Even Heiji had limits on his knowledge - he would have to read up on the subject - but the jibe had the desired effect; he knelt down to Hakuba. "Hey, hey! Can ya hear me?"

Hakbua was still clutching his ears, blond bangs sweeping over his face before he looked up. "Everything's ringing," he said in a voice a little too loud, "but I can hear you." Then the piercing sound broadcast over the radios again, and even Heiji winced as Hakuba's eyes widened and he pressed his hand even closer to his ears. "Go," he growled.

Heiji didn't need to be told twice, and he raced in the direction the culprit had gone.

* * *

Heiji's warning came almost too late. The girls barely had time to pull off their headsets before the high-pitched shriek came over the radios. They all yelped and put their hands to their ears instinctively, curling into themselves until the piercing stopped.

"Y'all okay?" Kazuha asked slowly, raising her head back up and daring to lower her hands.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Aoko was demanding, rubbing a finger in her left ear. "What kind of maniac broadcasts _that_ on a radio?"

"Jii-san? Jii-san, can you hear me?" Ran was asking in the front. Kazuha got up and walked up to her. "Hello? Jii-san?"

"What's wrong?"

"Jii-san," she said, her face tight in worry, "He was helping me monitor the cameras from... a different location. I can't get him back. Let me try the chat window."

Kazuha watched from over the other girl's shoulder as she furiously tabbed between - she tried to count - eight or nine different windows. The akido master blinked as she realized just how much Ran had put on herself for this heist. The scare with Conan at the first heist must have really affected her - Kudo's injury was probably lingering on her mind, too, increasing her protective drive to look after everyone close to her. A chat window did indeed come up, Kazuha only having a few moments to read the text before Ran sent her message and one came back almost immediately.

_Are you alright?_

_ Yes, but I and many others have temporarily lost their hearing._

"Oh, great," Kazuha said, rolling her eyes. Then the shriek came over the radio again. She grimaced but pushed through it. "I betcha he's set it ta a random timer ta keep everyone from usin' th' radios and keepin' in contact. We'll have to do this th' hard way."

"Conan-kun," Ran said quickly. "Can you still hear me?"

A crackled "yes," came in for a reply. "I think the encryption code we're using filtered out the noise somehow."

"Good," Ran said, "We have two people out that can still hear us."

Kazuha made a face. "Ya count th' kid?"

Ran smiled over her shoulder. "We'll have to."

"No, we don't. Ya got an extra one o' those pins?"

Ran paused, staring, before a broad grin spread across her face. "Let me see what I can dig up."

* * *

Kid blinked when he saw his entourage suddenly spasm and grab their heads. It had stopped all the fun, and he actually had to _turn around and wait_ for everyone else to catch up. "Jii-chan," he whispered, "What happened?"

No response.

Given that Jii was over in Tokyo, the only thing that could incapacitate him would come over the radio. Something must have been broadcast over the police bands. He cursed; he'd thought that the buffer system he'd set up with Jii would help. Apparently not. "Tantei-kun, are you deaf, too?" he wondered aloud.

Nakamori, as expected, was the first to rise up from the crowd.

"What the *%!$&_)(*!~ was that?"

Kid tsked. "Did someone make a mistake with the radio?" he asked brightly, raising his voice to be heard over the ringing no doubt everyone was suffering from.

"YOU ~!#$%^&*()! Get him!"

Nobody heard him. Taking pity, Kid strode across the throngs of groaning police officers right up to Nakamori. "Tell you what," he said brightly. "Let's make things interesting."

He offered a wrist to the detective.

Nakamori stared at it blankly, not quite believing what he was seeing, before he pulled out handcuffs with a flare and put them on Kid's offered wrist and his own. "I've got you at last!" he shouted, his voice still too loud for a person of normal hearing.

Kid shrugged. "If you say so." A puff of smoke and a quick transplantation, and Nakamori found himself handcuffed to a snoring Mori Kogoro. Nakamori was glaring daggers at the sleeping detective, radiating accusation before swiveling his head to Kid, about ready to spontaneously combust. "There are two things going on, keibu," he said brightly in normal tones, fully aware Nakamori at best could only barely hear him. "First is the heist; second is the arrest of the man who tried to shoot at me. I'd taken steps to keep them separate, but I guess that didn't work as well as I'd hoped. So, for now, I'm going to put one on pause and see what I can do in the other. You just sit tight and keep each other company. When you can actually hear each other, see if you can find me. In the meantime, I need to have a stern conversation with tantei-han."

"You ~!#$%^&*()_+!"

"If you say so, keibu!" he responded brightly. He waved happily and left Nakamori and the deadweight, walking through all the bodies, occasionally jumping a desperate hand or two that tried to grasp him and disappearing into an alley. He didn't have long before they started chasing him again, with or without hearing, but it was enough for him to duck into a maintenance door and climb a ladder that led to the catwalks above the restaurant. His shoes only thudded against the metal once before becoming silent as he stalked his way around. He had much more room to maneuver up here; he'd used it to case the entire mall the previous night, to say nothing of setting up his traps beforehand.

It took, oh, three minutes to find Itotsuki, tucked behind a bright red tori guarding a small period shrine. Heiji was further down the way, spinning his head around and being thorough in his search. Kazuha was milling about, too, something in her fist that she kept speaking into. The pins no doubt, meaning that whatever Kudo's inventor had come up with had some pretty good tech to it. Kaito decided to politely ask (not mooch, not now that things were in the open - he had ethics after all) Kudo for a copy of the software after the heist.

The catwalks here were more open, and so Kid softly jumped down and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yo!" he said lightly. "I heard you were looking for me."

The espionage member started, staring up at the towering Kid with no small amount of surprise. It quickly faded for a more composed look, and though still crouched in his hidey-hole, he offered a polite smile. "That Osakan detective says you're the one who gave up my name."

"He did?" Kid asked lightly. "He must be feeling generous today."

"I didn't know you were that well connected."

Kid shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know how well connected 'well connected' is."

"Heh. You told my brother that before you disappeared," Itotsuki muttered under his breath. Kid's ears perked; this was going in a direction he hadn't expected in the slightest. "He really looked up to you, did you know that? Claimed he even found out who you were, though he outright refused to say. He died two years ago, did you know?"

"No," Kid replied, his voice slightly softer, feeling sympathy for the man. Loss was always personal.

"Some bugger decided she didn't like him for a bedmate," Itotsuki continued. "Kidnapped him. Killed him - or he killed himself, I haven't decided which." Slowly, with a grace that denied his portly exterior, he lifted from his crouch and reached to the small of his back, pulling out a gun. "Well," he said easily. "We're now face to face. Let's talk."

Kaito, deep under the Kid veneer, started cursing.

* * *

Kazuha felt a hand clamp over her mouth, and she expertly threw the body attached to the hand over her shoulder, ready to kick ass, only to find a certain stupid ahou was attached to the arm instead. She settled for punching said arm.

"Ahou!" she whispered harshly, helping him back up before they ducked into an alley of the underground mall. "I coulda killed ya!"

"Ahou," Heiji whispered, equally harsh, "What th' hell are ya doin' here?"

"Helpin' ya, what does it look like?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice down. "Th' whole precinct is deaf now, an' whenever they try ta coordinate another one o' those stupid shrieks comes across the police bands makin' them more deaf. They can't talk ta each other over th' radio, and even if they could, they're yellin' so loud ta be heard they're announin' everythin' they do."

"I know," Heiji replied, his face dark. "If you're gonna be out here, Kazuha, you're gonna do this _my_ way."

"Heiji-" the girl started, ready to give an argument.

"Not now," he snarled, with a heat that reminded the akido master of when he was cursing over Kudo taking away his decision to tell her the truth. "I'm tryin' ta keep everyone safe. Fer me ta do that ya gotta do what I say, _got that?_" His tone brooked no argument, and Kazuha's knee-jerk response was to do exactly that, but just as she was about to retort she looked over his shoulder and saw Kid drop down from nowhere. She gasped, making Heiji shove her down, him on top to give her cover. "_Stay put_," he hissed, before pulling himself up to his hands and knees and turning around, crawling forward.

Kazuha found herself panting for air and growled herself, closing her eyes and re-centering herself. Once her heart rate was back to normal, she got up and crawled to join Heiji. Their view was obscured, but she could see the red tori and Kid standing in front of it.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Kid 'n' Itotsuki," Heiji replied.

"I figured _that_ much," Kazuha hissed. "Why aren't we takin' 'em both in?"

"'Cause Itotsuki just pulled a gun," Heiji offered, pointing.

"I don't see it," Kazuha offered, the red gate obstructed her view. She half climbed over Heiji, tilting as far over as she could. Only then could she see the culprit and the object in his hand. "Shit, what do we do?" she asked.

Heiji was already ahead of her. "Nee-chan," he whispered into his pin, "where's Conan-kun?"

"I don't know," Ran whispered back from the safety of the surveillance truck. "I lost sight of him as soon as I did Kid-san. I see Kid-san now, but I can't find Conan-kun."

"I'm up on the catwalks," the child's voice said, his voice sounding much older on the radio. "I don't have a clear shot."

"Shot of what?" Kazuha whispered.

"Never mind that," Heiji said brusquely. "An' get _off_." He lifted his strong shoulder, hoisting Kazuha's hands off the black tiles of the floor and making her lean back to her knees. He gave one last look at the tense affair happening only two dozen feet away and turned back to Kazuha. "This is what we're gonna do," he said slowly. "You're gonna sneak up from the side, an' I'll sneak up from behind."

"Heiji, th' guy with th' gun will _see_ you."

"I know," Heiji said, his face hard. "I'm countin' on that; I'll distract 'im so ya can steer in an' surprise him. When that happens, Kid'll do somethin' spectacular I'm sure, an' that'll be enough fer th' both of us ta get the drop on him. Kudo, can ya monitor things from up there with Nee-chan?"

"Ah," the boy replied over the pin. Then in a lighter voice, "But call me Kudo again, Heiji-nii-chan, and I'll kick a soccer ball at you!"

The flat glare Heiji gave the radio pin made Kazuha smile in spite of the situation, and she put a confident hand on his shoulder, signaling that she was ready. Heiji nodded, a grin of his own falling across his features, and he pushed himself up to get himself placed.

* * *

Kaito was glad he'd put on the Kevlar vest. Heists usually went very well, but with this most recent advent of violence he decided enough was enough and had slipped it on under his shirt. The weight he wasn't used to, and no doubt it would affect his flying - something he'd find out the hard way later that evening; but as he stared at the barrel of the automatic and remembered the blood covered corpse of Minagami sprawled across a maintenance closet floor and the pain he'd suffered from _just_ a bruised rib, well, he was thankful for the weight.

That didn't stop him from cursing, though.

"How much talking do you want to do?" he asked, not about to let his anxiety over such a disgusting weapon show.

"It's not much, really," Itotsuki said. "I just wanted you to know you're an embarrassment to the profession."

Kid raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side in the polite air of surprise and confusion. "I've been called a lot of things; never an embarrassment."

The information thief snorted. "You announce your crimes and then make a joke out of them? A flashy white suit and a hang glider is one thing; that's a trademark and a signature, but the rest of it is just trite. No self respecting thief in their right mind is that flashy unless they're a movie star."

Kid put a hand to his heart. "You wound me," he said lightly. It was then that he spied what was about to happen. His father's monocle, a beloved artifact that he cherished, was also perhaps his most useful tool in his arsenal. It gave him the illusion of intangibility, because the rim of that beautiful monocle was mirrored. It had taken some training to know how to look at its refracted reflections, but it was a godsend, because he had better than perfect peripheral vision. That was how he saw the hostess, Kazuha, slowly sneaking up from an alleyway. He had no doubt after that that the best friend Hattori was behind him. A shift of the eyes in Itotsuki confirmed it, and Kid realized he both had more options and more ways on how things could go wrong.

He smiled, lowering his hand from his chest. The other was still in his pocket, wrapped firmly around the card gun. He'd need that. He found himself wondering where Aoko was and if she was all right, but she trusted that Hattori had taken good care of her, and that Ran was still with her.

"So," he said lightly, tilting his head. Time for pop psychology. "Your brother died a bitter and ugly death, and because he admired me in life you've decided to have contempt for me after his death - enough so that you actually thought getting rid of me would make the hurt go away."

Itotsuki smirked, shaking his head and looking down slightly as the amusement passed over him. "You're as smart now as you were then. You know, for a while, I thought you were a son or a brother, but you're the same guy. Only Kaitou Kid could look at a guy and understand his head in five seconds. I'll never understand why you let that stupid author name you Kid, it's too young for you."

Kid said nothing. The criminal didn't need to know that the name was actually perfect for him.

"But you're right," Itotsuki said. "Shrinks have told me it won't make me feel better in the slightest." He raised the gun to Kid's chest. "But I want to find that out for myself."

Kazuha was practically on top of them.

"Hey! Put the gun down, ya bastard!"

Right on time.

Things happened very quickly after that. Kid didn't move, but he heard Hattori brashly run up towards them, bokken no doubt in hand and ready to swing, giving Itotsuki just enough distraction to shift his eyes away. It was all Kid needed to pull out his card gun and use it like a hammer to knock the gun out of the culprit's hand, sending it spinning into the air just as Kazuha leapt over the waist high fence and squeezed behind the shrine - and therefore behind the culprit - and grabbed his shoulder, spinning her opponent around and grabbing his wrist and elbow, effectively pushing him to the ground in classic aikido fashion. In the meantime, Kid caught the gun in his free hand and leveled it to Itotsuki's head. Only then did he look over his shoulder to see Hattori was practically right on top of him; bokken still at the ready.

"Hey, put the weapon down," he said in a hard voice.

"Certainly," Kid replied. The pressure was off now, and he could be funny much more easily. "But which one?"

"Both, ya rat bastard," Hattori replied.

Kid grinned. "Ah, but you only said 'weapon,' not 'weapons.' That's a problem." He turned to the pinned Itotsuki. "Which one do you think I should let go of? The one that will tie you up? Or the one that will kill you?"

The thirty-seven year old, cool even with two guns pointed at him, only puffed out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders. "I'd choose the one that would kill me. Being arrested doesn't bother me that much in comparison."

Kid smiled. "Is that something your brother would do?"

The portly man's eyes widened. The smile that came after was much more genuine. "I guess it would be."

With a stylish twist of the wrist, Kid tossed the gun over to Hattori, who easily caught it. "Now th' other one," he said, bokken still at the ready.

"If you can still keep your attention after one little thing, I'll gladly hand it over," he said brightly. Without looking, he fired his card gun, magician's ribbons spinning out and tying up not only Itotsuki, but Kazuha as well, the two suddenly pressed against each other. Kazuha gave a surprised squawk, to say nothing of the noise that fell out of Hattori's mouth, and the teen detective was dashing forward to help his girlfriend. Kid took hold of the wire he'd used to jump down to now reverse the process, and up on the catwalks he saw the tiny form of his biggest critic.

"Well, now," Kid said expansively. "Did you get my last note?"

Kudo held up the micro recorder. "Ah."

"Have you decided what to do?"

"Ah," Kudo replied.

"Do I get a hint?"

Kudo held up a walkie talkie, and his voice suddenly became very boyish. "I found him, I found him! He's on the catwalks! Ne, ne, can anyone hear me?"

Kaito allowed himself to blink, knowing he had at best thirty seconds for the faux grade-schooler to explain.

"You want a public heist, right? To bring as much attention as possible so that you can draw out the right people? You can't have that without the chase, can you?"

Kaito gave him the most sincere grin he could muster before turning on his heel and dashing off in a (seemingly) random direction, Kudo's short legs unable to keep up.

* * *

Nakamori finally found the collector two hours later, just after one thirty in the morning, tied up and hidden in a cabinet in one of the back kitchens. He was none the worse for wear, even a little excited that Kid had decided to impersonate _him_ for the heist, considering it an honor. Stupid bastard.

To add insult to injury, he'd discovered that Kaitou Kid had already lifted the jewel before the heist had even started, because the freakin' idiot had decided to _keep the jewel on his person_ to ensure its safety. Nakamori remembered when he'd tried that idea by keeping a ring on his hand. It had been a disaster then, and it was a disaster now.

The cursing had only continued as the evening progressed. Between the raccoon that Kid had brought out from _somewhere_ and running around claiming he was thinking about stealing its "mask" and the doves crapping on his jacket, there was the _whispering_. The damn thief _knew_ they were all half deaf after the electronics criminal had hijacked the police bands, and so as a giant joke that was absolutely _not funny_, he _whispered_ every damn thing he said, making it _impossible_ to hear him.

He was sooooooo going to put that +_)(^#&(#(!~ in handcuffs - and he'd be freaking happy to do it!

There were, however, (for once) a few happy points to the evening. Hattori's son had managed to capture Itotsuki. Aoko had come up and given them snacks and was safe with the other girls, Mouri and Toyama, in the surveillance truck. She was rubbing his shoulders now - jacket off so her hands wouldn't be covered in bird shit, and Kaito had shown up at some point, a straightjacket of all things in hand and happily announcing that he wasn't going anywhere _near_ his relatives _ever_ again. Nakamori didn't even try to understand his good friend's son; he was too much like his father in that respect.

"Ooh, right there, sweetie. That's perfect!"

"Aoko-nee-chan will make a great wife some day!"

Oh yeah. The brat was here. He turned to glare at the child, not without respect to the fact that Kaito had turned bright red at the comment. "Isn't that damn Mori _ever_ going to take you home?"

"Eh?" the boy asked in disgustingly sweet tones. "He already went home. I'm waiting for Ran, and she's not leaving until she knows that Aoko-nee-chan and Kazuha-nee-chan and Heiji-nii-chan are all okay." The grin he gave was utterly mischievous. "So I get to keep you company!"

"Brat."

"Dad, stop," Aoko admonished, digging her nails into his shoulder to prove the point. The curse he gave out only made her dig her nails in more. "There are kids here!" she hissed before turning back to the brat. "You're very nice to keep us company like this," she said brightly. "You'll make a good husband one day."

"The only husband I'll be is to Ran," he said brightly. Nakamori sputtered at the idea, and he saw Kaito turn a distinct shade of green. Aoko only cooed, enjoying the thought for some reason.

"You're so cute, Conan-kun!"

"He's also dead serious, Aoko," Kaito said, still looking sickly.

"Okay," the object of conversation said, finally appearing. "Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan are fighting now, so I know it's going to be fine. Come on, Conan-kun, let's go back. Kazuha-chan will likely be a while and she gave me the keys to her home."

Nakamori blinked. "You mean Mori left without being able to get into the house?"

"Oh," Ran said easily, a vein pulsing on her forehead. "I'm sure he won't be home for hours yet. If he's not back by morning, Conan-kun and I will check the tea houses and drag him back." A dark aura started to surround her as she continued to smile. "If it comes to that he'll be in quite a bit of trouble," she said in deceptively bright tones.

"So we have the house to ourselves?" the brat asked happily. "Then we can have a date when we get back!"

Ran only grinned. "You're right, we probably could. Come on." She offered her hand and he happily took it.

Nakamori turned to his daughter and her not-quite best friend. "You keep strange company," he said finally.

Kaito nodded sagely. "You have _no_ idea."

**

* * *

Author's Notes**: ... I really have no idea where this chapter came from. I had literally no inspiration for this chapter whatsoever, and trying to find pictures of the Takimi-koji restaurant mall, while atmospheric, was not as helpful as I wanted them to be. However, in spite of this, the _characters_ seemed to sure know what was happening, even if I didn't. A paragraph here, a sequence there, and suddenly I realized that everyone was building to something, and that something was a quick (but I dare to say clever) action sequence followed by Conan's final decision on how to handle Kaitou Kid.

On that at least I was inspired by their respective fathers. It's no secret that Kudo chased Toichi, even named him, and tailored his Night Baron series to him. I take a (small?) leap in thinking he probably knew who Kaitou Kid was and chased him anyway. At least, that's what was running through my head as I was banging it against the keyboard trying to figure out where the hell this chapter was going.

We continued to make this a Hattori sequence, _he_ was the one to catch the criminal - with the added bonus of Kazuha, and Conan didn't overly do much in terms of the evening's events. We hope it upholds our goals and your expectations.

Next up: Epilogue


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Conan sat on Ran's lap, next to Kogoro as they waited for their train back to Tokyo. Hattori and Kazuha were arguing just a short distance away, but Conan didn't really care at the moment. Ran had hugged him close to her, as she seemed to love doing over the past holiday week, resting her head on his. Conan was trying not to blush, but he wasn't entirely sure if he was succeeding. Instead, he focused on the large screen TV across the station that was _still_ reporting on Kuroba's second heist, even two days later. Well, Conan did have to admit that the second heist _had_ been rather spectacular once Itotsuki had been arrested. Kuroba had led a merry chase through the Umeda Sky Building. With Hattori busy being in charge of Itotsuki, ensuring he was properly handcuffed and hauled off to jail, Conan had ended up being the one to give chase to the elusive Moonlight Magician.

The small detective couldn't stop a slight smile. He'd promised a proper chase to Kuroba, and a proper chase it very well was. With Ran's help over the radio and her disabling the high-pitched noises that were disrupting the police bans and then keeping the police informed of their positions, it ended up being quite the chase through Umeda, out on the streets for a brief moment, and up to the Sky Garden where Kuroba finally took off. Properly this time, without any bullets or passing out while flying. Ran, in a moment of sheer genius, made sure that all security cameras were patched into TV broadcasting, ensuring that it _was_ a chase to be seen, and very, very public.

Conan squeezed Ran's hand as some footage on the TV changed to the chase that she had broadcasted. She squeezed back. Kogoro was beside them, hiding behind shades, hoping not to be recognized since some of the footage included him as a deadweight attached to Nakamori, something he wanted desperately to hide from. Conan had debated briefly on whether or not to announce that it was the Great Sleeping Kogoro in the station, but decided against it.

"Dammit," the shaded detective grumbled. "Where the hell is our train?" He stood. "Ran, keep an eye on the freeloader. I'm going to check the times and see if anything's running late." Turning, he grumbled and shuffled off, muttering something about keeping great detectives waiting and the indignity of it all.

With Kogoro gone, Hattori and Kazuha wandered a little closer.

"Ran-chan?" Kazuha asked quietly. "Have you heard from Kudo-kun? How's he doing?"

Hattori snorted beside her.

Ran just smiled. "I heard from him the night of the heist. He called shortly after Conan-kun and I got home." Kazuha nodded to herself, and Conan suspected that she confirmed for herself that the Kudo who had been staying with them was authentic, even though he wasn't.

"It was strange though," Ran continued, "he seemed confused when I asked him how his wound was doing. Apparently, he hadn't been injured since last fall."

"..."

Conan looked down to the ground, hiding a smirk. That injury last fall, of course, had been him bleeding into a bucket.

Kazuha's mouth kept opening and closing, her eyes wide, making her look like a landed fish. "Ya mean the Kudo we were hidin' _wasn't_ Kudo?"

"No," Ran said quietly. "Apparently Kaitou Kid knows what Shinichi is doing. He even helps Shinichi out, on very rare occasions."

"All o' that effort was ta hide a _criminal_?" Kazuha hissed. "Argh!"

Hattori put a hand on her shoulder. "We couldn'ta known," he retorted, looking off to the side to hide his grimace. "He even had _me_ fooled." Hattori snorted. "Bet the damn Kid's laughin' his monocle off."

Conan decided to pipe up. "At least Ojii-san doesn't know we messed up. We'd _never_ hear the end of it."

To that, at least, they all laughed. Kogoro's likely proclamations on how he'd known that it was Kid in an instant were wildly untrue and would primarily be to satisfy his own ego. But they didn't have to put up with that.

Kazuha still looked like she was contemplating murder, however, when a voice started to cut through the crowds.

"Oh, oh, Aoko, how about 'Kid: Prestidigitator Extraordinaire'? Or maybe 'Cool Kid: Master of Illusions', or 'Kid: A Magician'? I like that last one, keeps things simple."

"Of _course_ it's simple, you're a simpleton," was the reply.

"Aoko-chan!" Ran called, waving. "Kuroba-kun! Nakamori-keibu! Over here!"

Sure enough, the three came over, everyone making the appropriate greetings.

"So," Hattori drawled, "where's th' rest o' the Task Force?"

"Went home early," Nakamori grunted. "I had to set a few things. Where's your 'grown-up'?"

Conan pointed, having spotted Kogoro already in the crowd.

The man in question had removed his glasses and was chatting with an exquisitely beautiful twenty-something. "Well, you see, Kaitou Kid had to knock me out, he knew I was his greatest threat. You can't imagine my shame at being caught unawares..."

The young twenty-something gave a bell-like laugh.

Nakamori stormed over, grunting and attempting to clear up what he was muttering as "inconsistencies".

Ran let out a sigh. "I have to apologize for my father..."

Conan looked up to her and winked. "Ne, Ran, what else did Shinichi-nii-chan say when he called?"

Aoko immediately dove in. "Kudo-kun called you! Finally! Details, details!" Kazuha glanced back and forth, looking stressed, but that was to be expected. She was new to all this. But Ran was starting to become an old hand, at least with semi-prepared tales like this, and the three girls sat down to share some girl talk. Shinichi himself squirmed out of Ran's hands and went over to where Hattori and Kuroba were in a semi-glaring contest.

Not liking being ignored, especially when he had an important question to ask, the truncated detective tugged at Kuroba's pant leg. "Kuroba," he said softly. "The person you have tutoring Ran..."

After all, Shinichi may trust Kuroba, but anyone he didn't know was fair game as far as he was concerned.

Kuroba just gave his usual manic grin. "You and your girlfriend come over, say, a week from Friday, and you'll meet him face to face. That way you can go over whatever you need."

Shinichi nodded. A fair offering. But then curiosity got the better of him. "You'd said that you'd..." he hesitated, not sure if he could ask. But he was _very_ curious... "you'd found a room? Once I'm satisfied with the tutor... could I...?"

Kuroba kept the manic grin, "No way in hell, tantei-kun. Gotta keep my secrets somehow."

Scowling, Shinichi acknowledged the truth of that. He'd have to work to keep his curiosity in check.

There was a loud squeal from the girls, and Shinichi could damn well guess what had just been revealed. After all, he and Ran _had_ discussed it after returning from the heist. Or rather, they had wandered into the topic.

"What's got'em so riled?" Hattori grumbled.

"Don't know," Shinichi grumbled.

Kuroba, however, seemed to see right through him. "Oh, I think you _do_, tantei-kun. I think you _do_."

Shinichi tried not to blush.

"Why, Kid, I think ya got'm blushing. I'd say he knows somethin', alright."

"Why, yes, Hattori-kun, I believe you're right."

Shinichi started to back away.

Hattori and Kuroba looked at each other, united on something for once.

Shinichi had _never_ expected the two of them to gang up on him. Good heavens, what had he started with all this?

Hattori grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and Kuroba produced a feather. "Ne, Hattori-han," Kuroba slipped into perfect Osakan drawl. "D'ya know where this pint-sized kiddo might be ticklish?"

"Might have a few ideas," Hattori drawled back.

"Auughya!"

* * *

Ran watched Kuroba and Hattori start tickling Shinichi and let out a small sigh of relief. If those three could be so relaxed after _everything_ that had happened and (more importantly) been revealed, things looked like they'd be stable. 'Okay' was a question mark, there was still a lot of adjusting that would need to be done by everyone, but things were at least stable.

Back to the conversation at hand.

"I can't _believe_ the elusive Kudo actually got the balls to talk future baby names with you!" Aoko trilled. "First he talks to you about marriage, and now baby names!"

Ran smiled. "Like I said when we had breakfast together, he's in no position to offer anything to me, not really. But it's nice when the two of us can plan what our future might bring."

Kazuha gave a small, sad smile, understanding with greater clarity just _why_ Shinichi couldn't propose outright. "How'zzat big case he's workin' on?" she asked.

"Frustrating. Leads just keep drying up once he snatches them."

"Never mind that!" Aoko was positively beaming. "What sort of names did the two of you like? For a boy? For a girl?"

_Not 'Conan', that's for sure_, was Ran's first thought. While Ran wouldn't mind having a child named Conan, to remember the sweet child that was always by her side, Shinichi had refused, saying it was too painful and would be a reminder of all the bad things. She'd acquiesced, but she knew she'd be discussing it with him again one day.

"We were thinking of names like Chikao for a girl and Hideaki for a boy."

"You want smart kids, don't you?"

Kazuha let out a grunt. "With a daddy like Kudo? They'd be cursed if they didn' inherit his brains."

"As long as it's not a name like Hisoka," Ran said quietly.

Aoko blinked, pausing at that. Ran held back a grin. It was a clue on the secretive nature that had plagued her relationship with Shinichi, and Aoko noticed the reference to secrets.

Shrugging, Aoko offered, "Then how about Naoko? Or maybe Masahiro?"

"Ooooh," Kazuha interrupted, "Shinakio? Toshihiro?"

Ran laughed. "You two! You act like I'm already pregnant!"

"Ran!" Conan was blushing horribly at their feet, panting hard. "Kaito-nii-chan and Heiji-nii-chan won't stop tickling me!" he said through gulps for air.

Ran grinned widely, convinced that Shinichi had somehow deserved it, but it had the affect that Shinichi wanted. Aoko and Kazuha rounded to the other two young men.

"_Kaito_!"

"_Heiji_!"

Both had the wisdom to bring up their hands and take a step back.

"Shinichi," Ran whispered, "what did you do now?"

He gave a slightly bashful grin.

* * *

Heiji knew when he was dead meat. And that was pretty much any time that Kazuha was looking at him like she was at that moment. _Damn_ Kudo and his using his apparent age to manipulate Kazuha! At least Nee-chan would handle him, and given his squirming, there wasn't any doubt that she would.

But Heiji never got the argument. Because Kid had whirled around Aoko and flipped her skirt. "Red lace? Aoko!" Kid grinned widely. "I had no idea you had such a sexy side. I really must see more of this!"

"_Kaito_!"

But as she turned to grapple the already moving thief, (Heiji had _no idea_ how Kid could move like that with a bruised rib, even after a week) Kid merely flipped her shirt as well.

"Oooh, matching set! Aoko, when did you start to grow up?"

What Aoko said next had Heiji and Kazuha's ears burning as she whirled one of her bags around in an attempt to knock the magician off his light feet.

"But I must admit," Kid grinned as he slid around the bag. (Heiji wondered just _how_ he could do that with his bruised rib...) "The pad kinda detracts. But I noticed it was only one pad. So you must be on, what, your fourth day? You usually flow quite heavily."

Heiji's jaw dropped. "Ya just _don't_ say that t' a girl," he mumbled, feeling a flush building in his face. "Not even the oblivious _Kudo_ is that bad..."

Beside him, Kazuha stiffened. Blinking, Heiji turned, raising an eyebrow. "What?" he asked quietly.

"How do ya do it?"

"...Huh?"

She shook her head. "How do ya _do_ it?" she repeated. "How do ya get through th' day when ya _know_ Kudo-kun's out there 'n' in danger? How didja talk to Ran when she didn't know, because I _know_ ya knew 'bout Kudo-kun before she did. How _do_ ya keep goin' on like everythin's normal?"

Heiji let out a small breath and looked up, not entirely sure how to answer that. He'd been dealing with that particular concern for so long it was like second nature. When Kudo'd first told him about the Black Organization, he'd been somewhat skeptical that any organization could have that kind of power. But after working with Kudo on a few cases that involved _Them_, he'd come to understand just _what_ they were dealing with. And it was a scary prospect.

"Honestly? Whenever it felt too heavy, I'd just make sure ta find ya."

Kazuha blinked. "Eh?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Ya didn' notice? I've known where ta find ya so often 'cause I've always gone lookin' for ya when I needed a li'l support."

Her face turned red and Heiji was certain he saw steam. Why was beyond him.

"But I've never _done_ anythin' fer ya!"

Heiji rolled his eyes. "Ka. Zu. Ha," he groaned. "Don'tcha know how just plain _ordinary_ life can be stress relievin'? Ya seen yer father come home stressed 'n' after a meal with th' family, he's back ta normal. Y're the _normal_ I look for when it feels like the world's spinnin' outta control. You'll see once we're back in school tomorrow, ya?"

Kazuha looked at him skeptically. "If ya say so," she mumbled. "'m _so_ ready for this ta be over."

Nodding, Heiji winced when Aoko finally made contact with Kid, if only to stumble on top of him, making everyone start to laugh. "We're lucky. We're down here 'n Osaka 'n' we don't run across stuff as much as Kudo does. We'll be fine."

She nodded. "I hope so."

"Hattori-kun!" Kid called from underneath Aoko. "Since I've got Aoko in my arms and Ran-chan's got the ankle-biter in her arms, why don't you have Kazuha-san in _your_ arms?"

Both Kazuha and Heiji started to violently protest.

**The End**

**Author's Notes**: Gwah! For some reason this epilogue REFUSED to be written. So, lots of cute conclusionary stuff.

Now a lot of you have been asking about another story in this series. Rather than getting into it here, we'll direct you here: http: / /mirrorandimage . livejournal . com / 90448 . html (minus the spaces, obvously...)

For those curious, the names listed translate as the following:

Chikao Clever, wise

Hideaki Wisdom, cleverness

Hiromasa Broad-minded, just

Hisoka Secretive, reserved

Masa Righteous (Variations: Masahiro, Masajiro, Masao, Masataro)

Naoko Straight, honest - Naoki, Naoto, Naoya

Shinakio Faithful + bright

Toshihiro Intelligent + wise


End file.
